Dreams Turn into Nightmares
by raimutt
Summary: Rai was thrown into the Code Geass universe by his friend when a spell went horribly wrong. Now he must figure out a way to stay alive until he can get home. Yaoi. Sucky summary I guess. Not Rai from game.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I had a dream about this happening so I decided to make it a fan fic. Yes, I know that in one of my other stories there is a character named Rai, but that's because I'm absolutely in love with that name. No, it's not the character Rai from the DS game, but actually more of a male version of Rai from my FMA fan fic, only not nearly as spazzy I don't think. Oh and warning: This is a Yaoi, if you don't like yaois then don't read, it's as simple as that. **

At Ashford Academy the clouds drifted lazily through the sky. A cool, gentle breeze was blowing outside. The sun was shining high up in the sky, making the classroom, at least the desks near the window, comfortably warm. The clock in the upper left hand corner in the front of the classroom read 2:45. Class would be over in fifteen minutes, after that everyone would go to their club activities. Well that is, except for Rai Bakura. He wasn't in a club, nor did he want to be.

Rai gazed out the window, boredom written all over his face. He couldn't wait for class to end, that way he could go and hide in the library and read. You'd think that with all the reading he did that Rai would've joined the literature club, right?

Wrong.

Rai had scoped out the literature club when he first came to Ashford. From what he saw, the people themselves where incredibly boring and stuck up. Plus, the president of the club would tell everyone what they're supposed to read and then after a week the club would discuss the book. Rai didn't like the idea of somebody telling him to do anything, let alone what to read.

So most of the time Rai just sat by himself, hiding in a corner of the library where even the library club couldn't find him and read quietly to himself. Or he would write. Rai was actually a very good writer; at least, that's what his friends back home told him.

Rai let out an inaudible sigh at the thought of home.

You see, Rai wasn't from Area 11, he wasn't even from Britannia. Hell, Rai wasn't even from the reality he was stuck in now. Rai was from our reality, where Code Geass is an anime/manga. And he even being here was all the fault of one of his closest friends, Scott.

Scott was a Wiccan and he loved to experiment with different spells he had learned from others, made up on his own, or read from the books that he had discovered. Can you guess who his favorite test subject for these experiments? Yep, that right, Rai.

This time Scott had been toying with a transporting spell or something. He had wanted to figure out whether or not someone or something could be transported a great distance away using magic. Scott had mixed together about five different kinds of spells and decided to use Rai as a test subject.

Rai predicament was the outcome of Scott's little experiment.

_Honestly, I don't think most Wiccan-Clan Leaders are allowed to use their supposedly royal advisors as a God-damn lab-rat! _Rai thought for the thousandth time.

The bell chimed, snapping Rai out of his stupor. He snatched his school bag and hurried out of the classroom. No one noticed him as he walked down the hall. Then again, no one ever notice Rai, even back home. The only time anyone knew of his existence most of the time was either if he made himself known to them; or if one of his friends drew attention to him. Granted, it's not like Rai looks were very out there. His wheat-brown hair parted on the left, causing some of his hair to make sweeping bangs across his forehead. His eyes were sepia in color with a light tint of gold. Rai's figure was somewhere in between Lelouch's and Suzaku's. He wasn't incredibly strong, but he was fast and agile. He was lithe, practically to the point where you could confuse him for a girl if he wasn't wearing a boy's school uniform. He always walked with his eyes downcast, not looking at anyone. He was kind of short or his age, just enough that he wasn't really at eye level (More like chin level) with the other boys. Rai was almost always quiet, so no one bothered him. It was as if there was a barrier separating Rai from the other students. Not that he minded.

Rai had watched all of Code Geass, and from what he could figure, Lelouch had just gained the power of Geass. Everyone was still mourning the death of Prince Clovis and Princess Cornelia hadn't gotten to Area 11 just yet. Rai decided it was best if he didn't draw any attention to himself and just wait until Scott found a way to bring Rai back home.

In fact, the only reason Rai was at Ashford Academy was because he got caught. He was found by a Britannian soldier who brought Rai to Ashford when he discovered that Rai wasn't attending school. Technically, you could say that Rai was being jailed at Ashford, since he wasn't allowed to leave. Personally, Rai hadn't actually talked to Milly, but met her grandfather when he was taken here. Milly's grandfather had agreed to allow Rai to attend the school.

In Rai's opinion, it was like something out of a bad fan fic.

Rai slipped silently into the library, unnoticed by everyone. Well, almost everyone.

The corner in which Rai always sat was in a dark and kind of musty part of the library. Normally no one sat there, except for Rai. He loved his little corner, it was always peaceful and quiet, and Milly would never find him here. It was a rule at Ashford for every student to be in a club, though Rai thought if he was sneaky enough he could get away with not being in one. He was proven wrong after two days. When Milly discovered that the new student wasn't in a club (she checked his schedule.) she decided to hunt him down and force him to join one. She even gotten a hold of the picture of him on his student I.D. and used it to make wanted posters all across the school. Not that it mattered, Rai could probably (and was half tempted to.) stand right next to one of the posters and the only thing people would think was 'Why are there two of those posters so close together?' But here, no one was looking for him, he would be left alone.

So why was a girl sitting in Rai's hiding place?

Rai walked towards the girl, a small frown decorating his lips.

The girl was sitting in Rai's favorite chair, her long, light-green hair falling over the armrests. Her yellow-nearly golden eyes were train on the book in her hands. She was taller than Rai, but not by much. She wore what appeared to be some sort of straight jacket that was unbuckled. At the moment she seemed to be completely absorbed in what she was reading.

Rai's frown turned into a scowl as he looked at the girl. She clearly wasn't a student, so why was she in the library? More importantly, why was she in Rai's spot?

Rai wasn't stupid, he knew this was C.C. but decided to play dumb. Rai went to the chair across from where C.C. was sitting and sat down, pulling out a book from his school bag. There was silence as the two of them read, not really acknowledging each other presence. C.C. was the first to break the silence, much to Rai's surprise.

"Aren't you going to ask me what I'm doing here?" She asked, not looking up from her book.

"No. But I'm guessing you're one of three things; either a girlfriend of someone who goes here, and are waiting for them to be done with their club so that you two could go off on a date or something; a servant of one of the people going to this school; or a runaway who decided to hide out here until she can figure out what to do next." Rai told her, deciding to play it cool and not look up from his book either. C.C. looked up from her book and gave Rai a neutral look.

"I am none of those things." She said. This caused Rai to frown. From C.C's perspective it must have looked like he was trying to think of another reason for her to be there. But in reality he was actually wondering why she was telling him that. Wouldn't it be easier to just let Rai think she was one of those things? Why would she allow him to get anywhere near the truth? Most likely she just thought he wasn't smart enough to figure it out.

Rai looked at her, searching her face for any hint of what she was thinking. Of course, he didn't find anything.

"Fine then, I'll bite. What are you doing here?" Rai asked. C.C. gave him an amused smirk. She leaned back and watched Rai, as if she was actually considering telling him the truth.

"Reading." That was her answer. Rai didn't do anything for a moment, just stared. Then he chuckled, going back to his book.

"Very funny." He said sarcastically. C.C. smirked, and also continued to read.

After about two hours Rai stood up, putting his book back in his bag. "Bye, Miss." He Said to C.C. She looked up at him when he lifted his bag to his shoulder.

"…My name is C.C." she told him. Rai grinned turning back to look at her.

"And mine is Bakura, Rai." He said. C.C. smirked at him, and continued to read. Rai walked away, passing a few members of the science club who were looking for biology textbooks. Rai reached the library's door and just as he was about to walk through them, literally bumped into Lelouch Lamperough. "Ah! Excuse me." Rai scuttled out of Lelouch's way and almost slipped past him before Lelouch grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute; you're that boy Milly's being looking for; aren't you?" Lelouch asked, immediately recognizing Rai from one of the wanted posters. Rai hesitated, contemplating whether or not he could out run the Vice President of the Student Council. Lelouch had dark brown shortish-medium length hair that was in a somewhat messy hair style. His eyes were purple, which if Rai didn't already know that was his real eye color; Rai would have complemented Lelouch on how cool his contacts were. Lelouch was skinny, and could pass off as a girl better than Rai could ever. He looked as if the longest run he ever had to do was the mile run in P.E. and undoubtedly that would have tired him out to the point of near-fainting. Rai came to the conclusion that since Lelouch could most likely be out run by his crippled sister, that Rai could easily get away.

"No, I'm not."Rai lied to him with a straight face, knowing that Lelouch wouldn't believe him. Lelouch make some sort of amused noise and then released him.

"You better not let Milly catch you, she's been plotting to make you join the sewing club." Lelouch warned Rai.

"But I don't even know how to sew." Rai said. The two of them chuckled at that. Lelouch then went into the library while Rai walked out and made his way back to his dorm room. He was lucky enough that there were an odd number of boys in the school so he didn't have to share with anyone. As he got closer to the Council Room he took a detour, not wanting to get caught by Milly or one of her minions-erm one of the other student council members. He was lucky that Lelouch decided not to rat on him. Granted Lelouch probably just felt sorry for Rai having to hide just to avoid Milly. Today was an odd day, in Rai's opinion. Normally he had absolutely no contact with any of the main characters of Code Geass. The fact that today he had talked to both C.C. and Lelouch briefly, was bothering him. _Maybe it's a sign that something bad going to happen to me. That'd be just my- _before he could even finish the thought, Rai saw Milly exiting a classroom and turn towards him, with Shirley right behind her. Milly and Rai both froze, Shirley frowned, in a cute pouting way before recognition of who Rai was flickered in her eyes. Milly gave Rai a devilish smirk, one that said 'I've got you now.'

"So, we finally met face to face, Rai-kun." Milly said. She was a beautiful young woman with her medium length straw-blonde hair and grayish-blue eyes. She was only maybe an inch or two shorter than Lelouch and had a very curvy figure. Her breasts were well developed and made her look slightly older than she really was. Rai crouched slightly, ready to turn on his heel and sprint away in a second. He didn't trust her not to suddenly grab him and drag him off to some obscure club that she wanted him to join. Rai had no desire to learn how to sew.

"Hai, Madam Prez." Rai gave her a half-assed shaky grin, eyes shifting around to see if there were any escape routes he could take. Obviously finding one, his would-be grin morphed into a mischievous smirk. "Although I hate to have to cut our meeting short, I really must be off." With that Rai booked it to the nearest window in the hallway and opened it. Milly chased after him, running surprisingly fast.

"You're not getting away!" She yelled grabbing onto the hem of Rai's shirt. Rai struggled with her for a moment, trying to pry her fingers off his clothes. Milly's hand slipped and she accidently released Rai…who stumbled and fell out of the open window. With a surprised squawk, Rai landed in the branches of a tree which had thankfully grown too close to the side of the building. Rai looked up at Milly, who was still standing there gawking at him, and gave her an honest shit-eating grin. He leapt out (more like fell again.) of the tree and took off running the moment he feet connected with the ground. Thankfully back home he had been on the track team.

"Rivalz, get him!"

"Okay, Madam Prez!" Rai could hear the rumble of a motorbike right behind him.

"Oh, for the love of-!" Rai screamed, looking back and seeing Rivalz speeding toward him on his motorbike. "This is insane!" Rai shouted as he hurtle-jumped over a bush and scrambling as fast as possible away. He turned and corner and quickly ducked into an open classroom window. He rolled into a squatting position and hid under the window.

"I lost him!" Rai heard Rivalz shout from outside the window.

"Damn, he couldn't have gotten far!" Milly's voice was also heard.

"Uh-Prez?" Shirley called for Milly's attention.

"Yeah?" Milly asked.

"It's 5:30; club activities are over for the day." Nina told the Student Council President.

"Damn it, I guess we'll have to get him tomorrow." Milly's voice sounded like it was getting farther away. Rai didn't understand as to why that would stop her from doing anything, normally it wouldn't. Rai supposed that maybe Milly was treating this like a game to play if club activities were beginning to be boring.

"Well, that's fine by me." Rai muttered to himself, quietly sneaking out of the empty classroom and speed walking to the boys' dormitory.

Rai breathed a sigh of relief when he locked his dorm room door and kicked off his shoes. He placed his school bag by the door and walked to the center of his dorm. From where he stood, on the lower left side there was a small kitchen area with basic appliances like a toaster, a microwave, a rice cooker, and a coffee maker. On the left was a regular wooden desk with three drawers on the right under side. On top of the desk was a small stack of blank notebook paper, a lamp, a radio-alarm clock, and a cup filled with pen and pencils. Beside the desk was a small garbage pail. Above the desk was one of the two windows in the room. A normal wooden chair was pushed into the desk. On the upper right-hand side of the room was a twin sized bed with black and gold covers. The bed was against the wall and right under the other window. A few feet away from the bed, still on the right side, was a medium-sized dresser. Next to that was a closest. In the lower right-hand side of the room was a small living room-like area with a kotatsu in the middle. There was a TV against the back wall.

Rai stretched his arms over his head and allowed a low groan to escape his lips. Deciding to eat a light snack before he started on his homework, he made his way to his little kitchen. "What a day." Rai groaned. He couldn't believe that Milly had finally found him. That meant he would have to be far more careful in the future. "I could just give in and join a club…" Rai thought aloud. As he opened the refrigerator he shook his head. "Nah, she'll eventually lose interest and just find some way to harass Lelouch-sempai." Rai told himself. Rai was sixteen, one year younger than Lelouch and the others. He scanned the contents of the fridge and chose a chocolate pudding cup. Rai grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer and jumped onto his bed. Rai scooped a spoonful of pudding and ate with a childish smile on his face. "Now, what am I going to do? Judging from what's been on the news lately, Suzaku should be arriving at Ashford Academy soon." Rai paused to eat more pudding. "Maybe when he gets here, Milly will forget about me, having someone new to toy with. Then again you never know with her. I think that once they have that contest for hunting down the cat, I'll be out of everyone's minds and can wait peacefully for that damn witch to find a way to get me home." Technically Rai was also a Wiccan, but Scott hadn't actually taught him much yet, and he didn't know anything that could help him right now. "It's a shame, really. If I knew how long it would take for me to get back home, or could just go back anytime, then I'd be messing around and actually try to befriend the main characters and such. But since I don't know when or if I'll even return, I have to play it by ear and keep my head down." Rai went to scoop more out of the pudding cup, and pouted when he noticed that there was no more left. With a shrug, Rai deposited the empty cup into the garbage pail by his desk and went back to grab his school bag. He went to his desk and started on his homework. Rai didn't go to bed until the clock on his desk read 12:00 AM.

The next day Rai was in the classroom at 8:25, just five minutes before classes would officially start for the day. He sat at his desk, third row desk right next to the window. Idly he listened to the other students as they filed in and spoke with their friends before class started.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"There's a new student coming in today."

"Yeah, it's that Honorary Britainnian fella that was suspected of murdering Prince Clovis."

That got Rai's attention.

_What? Is it really happening so soon? Oh well, hopefully everything will go just like in the anime. _Rai hoped, rapping his knuckled gently on the wood of his desk. He still had a feeling that everything would go horribly wrong. _This will all end in tears. _Rai thought wryly, quoting Marvin from _The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy_.

After what seemed like forever to Rai, it was lunchtime. Rai walked out of the classroom and went up to the roof. Opening his lunch he picked up the carrot. Munching on it he looked over across the street from the school and saw Lloyd leaning against a large transport vehicle and chatting with Cecil. If felt so weird to see people like that and know that they're not actually cosplayers. Never in a hundred years did Rai think that someday he would be face to face with some of these people. If he wasn't so worried about getting home he would have been ecstatic about the situation. He always wanted to know if he could match wits with the likes of Lelouch or even Schneizel, whom Rai was actually somewhat scared by. In his opinion, there was something seriously off about Schneizel. Rai would joke with his friends saying that he thought that at one point Schneizel was going to molest Lelouch or Suzaku.

Now he was _really_ hoping he'd never meet Schneizel.

Rai finished his carrot and went on to the tuna filled onigiri he had made for lunch. He happily took a bite of it. Rai loved food. It was a miracle that he wasn't fat because of how much he ate. Granted, running away from crazy student council presidents has a way of keeping a person in shape. Rai stopped in mid-bite when he saw Suzaku Kururugi standing in front of a water trough and trying to scrub off the red writing some asshole had written on his gym shirt. Rai remembered that scene from the anime, and put his bento box back into his school bag. He sprinted down the steps and made his way to the science room.

About five minutes later Rai walked up to Suzaku who was still trying to scrub off the red. Rai hesitated for a moment, and then lightly tapped Suzaku on the shoulder. Suzaku jumped slightly, his kind of wavy chocolate brown hair bounce a little at the movement. He trained his olive green eyes on Rai, suspicion could be clearly read in those eyes. Rai let out a small gasp, he couldn't help it. Suzaku was very attractive, at least in Rai's point of view. Rai never told his friends, though, because he didn't want to be made fun of. Suzaku was the same height as Lelouch, but obviously not as frail-looking. He had the appearance of a true white knight.

Rai snapped himself out of his starting when he noticed Suzaku was giving him a strange look.

"Uh, here take this." Rai quickly grabbed Suzaku's hand and placed a vial with green liquid into the palm. "It's something a friend of mine in the science club was working on. It's a detergent that can get rid of any stain, well at least that's what Kiyoshi told me." Rai said; a heavy blush evident on his face. Before Suzaku could say anything, Rai moved around him and nearly ran away.

Suzaku was left blinking stupidly at Rai as he left. Suzaku shook his head, now thinking that Rai was a very strange boy, and then unplugged the vial and dumped it on his shirt, figuring that it couldn't make things worse.

"Well what do you know," Suzaku muttered lifting a now perfectly clean gym shirt out of the water. "It worked."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know that nothing really 'mature' has happened yet, but in later chapters there will. Thanks to seebear for reviewing. **

Once again Rai was sitting in his little area of the library. And once again C.C. was sitting across from him, in the chair that Rai considered _his_. He was pretty sure she knew that and the only reason she was in that chair was to annoy him. They were both reading quietly. C.C. had a little spot of tomato sauce on the corner of her mouth, which led Rai to believe that she recently ate pizza…which wasn't remotely surprising. Today C.C. was reading a book that was in some language that Rai didn't know, its cover was a dark green and looked worn.

Rai was reading _Le Morte d'Arthur_, Thomas Malory's version of King Arthur and the Knights of the roundtable. Code Geass actually reminded Rai of the tales of King Arthur. It was obvious as to why if a person thought about it. There was Suzaku's Knightmare, which was called Lancelot. One of Lelouch's sisters was named Guinevere. Hell, there was a cat named _Arthur. _C.C. and Lelouch's partnership was a lot like Merlin and Arthur's. Lelouch and Suzaku were best friends, but became on opposites sides just to be on the same side at the very end. That was basically what happened at the end of the _Le Morte d'Arthur_, also at the end of the book, Arthur dies (In case the title of the book didn't give you a huge hint.). The same thing happened to Lelouch in Code Geass. Although, there were people who believed that Lelouch became immortal like C.C. and Rai was one of them.

"…You're not like everyone else." C.C. suddenly spoke. Rai looked up to see her staring at him. She still had her book open, but wasn't reading it. As usual she had an emotionless expression on her face. He blinked a few times, not understanding what she had said. C.C. sighed, then closed her book and placed it on the low coffee table that separated the two chairs. "I mean, there's something strange about you." C.C. leaned forward, as if to get a closer look at Rai. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked for something in his expression to tell her what she wanted to know. "I looked through all of the documents I could find. And from what I found, you didn't seem to have existed until only about six months ago." C.C. told him. Rai paled slightly, hoping that C.C. wouldn't notice. She did. "Who are you, Bakura, Rai? Where did you come from?" C.C. demanded.

Rai blinked again. Never before had he ever felt so intimidated by a girl before. If she had wanted his lunch money, he would have most likely given it to her. But he didn't know what would happen if she knew everything.

"Why should I tell you anything about myself? I know nothing about you." That was a lie, but she didn't need to know that. C.C. thought for a moment, and then it appeared that she had decided on something.

"Alright, if you tell me why there are no documents on you other than the ones from this school; then I will tell you why I am here." C.C. told him. Rai gaped at her with wide eyes. He hadn't thought that she would say something like that. Now what should he do? Should he tell her? What if she told someone else? Rai figured it'd be bad if anyone knew that he came from a reality where Code Geass was nothing more than a story. Someone like Lelouch could use Rai to gain the upper hand and know all of their opponents' moves. Rai didn't want that to happen, he thought it best that everything stay cannon. But what could it hurt to tell her a little of the truth?

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?" Rai said. C.C. frowned, but nodded none the less. "I'm not from here, I'm from a parallel universe, I think." Rai told her. C.C. gave him a skeptical look.

"You think?" She asked. Rai smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure. Where I come from, there is no such thing as Britannia or any of these Areas. From reading some history books I'd say that something happened in this reality that didn't happen in mine, causing different countries to form and stuff like that. Also, back home there are no Knightmare Frames or some of the technology that I've seen around here. Where the homeland of Britannia is, is actually a country called the United States of America. That's the country I'm from, although my grandparents were born in Japan and moved there when my mom was five." Rai explained. C.C. tilted her head to the side in a curious way. She didn't say anything for a little while. Her eyes were slightly out of focus as she sat there. She was processing the information that Rai had just given her.

"I wonder…what else is different about your world…" C.C. spoke aloud, but even though the question seemed to be directed to Rai, he wasn't sure about it.

"Pardon?" Rai asked, frowning uncertainly. C.C. blinked, like she was waking up or something, then let her face slip back into the expressionless mask-like state it usually was in.

"Ah, it's nothing important. I suppose you would like me to explain myself, correct?" C.C. asked. Rai was curious as to how much she would tell him, so he nodded. "The reason I am here is-." Suddenly the intercoms scattered around the library and all throughout the school chimed to life.

"This is Milly Ashford, your Student Council President. Cat Hunt everybody!" C.C.'s eyes widened a fraction.

"Uh, oh." She said.

"There's a cat lose on campus that needs to be rounded up. Put everything on hold, people! Participating clubs will get budget priority. And whoever catches our feline friend will get an extra special prize! A big ol' kiss from one of the members of the Student Council! Hah, ha, ha, ha, hah!" The intercoms then clicked off. C.C. and Rai looked from the intercom right above them, to each other.

"This won't end well." Rai told her. C.C. nodded. She paused for a moment as she thought of something, her eyes lit up mischievously.

"Oh, would it be too much of an inconvenience to ask you to go and catch that cat for me?" C.C. asked. Rai had a comedic confused look on his face. It could have been mixed up with a look of 'why do you want that cat?' but in reality it was a look of 'what on earth are you plotting?!'

"Uh, why?" Rai asked. C.C. gave him a slightly creepy, mysterious smile.

"It will help me explain what I'm doing here." She told him. Rai frowned. Wow, was she going to tell him the whole truth or something?

"But how would a cat-?"

"I'm sure when you see the cat; you'll get a _big_ hint." She told Rai. Rai was beginning to like this less and less.

_I'll just pretend to go and search for the cat. That way Lelouch will still find the mask and I won't become anymore involved…somehow I don't think my luck will be that good. _"Well, sure I'll do my best. There ought to be a lot of people hunting for that cat, though, so I can't make any promises." Rai said. C.C. nodded, her face going back to its original state as she returned her attention to her book. Rai sighed to himself, and walked out of the library and out of the school building. It was a warm, sunny day with few clouds in the sky. As Rai walked little further away from the actual building, he saw a group, of what mainly seemed to be boys, riding horses and blazing past. Rai chuckled a bit at how Milly could so easily cause such chaos in a matter of moments. A distance away Rai could hear someone yelling about catnip.

"Plants will prevail!" someone shouted. Rai couldn't help but laugh loudly at the statement.

"And when you do catch that cat, bring what it's carrying to me, to me, to ME!!! Ah, hah, ha, ha, ho!" Milly's voice could be heard echoing through the school. Rai felt very sorry for Lelouch at that very moment.

"Better him than me." Rai said aloud, shrugging. He continued to walk, taking all the time in the world to just wander around campus. Just then, Nunnally's voice could be heard.

"Hum, I think that its leg must be hurt, because its footsteps sounded off to me. And uh, oh, I almost forgot, it meowed like this: Meoooow!" Nearly every student in the school repeated the noise, for some reason that eluded Rai. He was just nearing the building where the Student Council held events and did random stuff, when Milly came running out of the building and hopped into the sidecar of Rivalz's motorbike.

_Ah, so the mastermind herself is joining the fray. _Rai thought, mimicking the kind of tone he believed Lelouch would have used at this moment.

"What happens if a member of the Student Council catches the cat? We don't get a prize do we?" Rivalz asked. Milly paused before answering, which Rai did not find reassuring.

"Do we get a kiss? But of course." She told him. Rai had the strangest feeling right then that Milly actually knew that Rivalz had crush on her. Rai couldn't hear what else was said, for he was too far away, but he already knew so it didn't really matter. The tires squealed as Rivalz did a U-turn and sped away.

"Hey! No speeding on campus!" a teacher shouted.

_Wait a tick. These people are running around campus causing mass disruption, and yet you are only worried about the one guy on a motorcycle, speeding? Oh well, it's not like we're supposed to be in class. Hurray for club activities. _Rai thought sarcastically. He made his way to the clock tower, knowing that soon it would be time for Lelouch to find the cat. He thought it would be fun to watch everything play out. He went around the back of the building, as not to be seen by anyone. Even now Rai could hear Suzaku and Lelouch's voices as they raced up the steps. But since he was outside, Rai couldn't actually hear the words.

Hiding in the shadow of the building (and feeling kind of creepy about it.) Rai could see Milly and Rivalz come to a screeching stop in front of the clock tower. There were about seven or so other people already standing around. Rai thought his spot would be a perfect place to stand, since no one could see him unless they were actually looking for him. Rai knew this was a bad idea, that-knowing his luck or lack thereof-he could get tangled up in this mess. But Rai doubted that anything like that would happen. After all it's not like his very being there would somehow alter the events of what was to happen in any way.

You know; thinking like that can be very dangerous to a person's health.

Rai couldn't see the top of the roof from where he was standing, but he knew what was happening by how the people on the ground were acting. Right now he figured that Suzaku was on the roof, with Lelouch right behind him.

"Suzaku, come back!" Rai heard Lelouch shout. Rai couldn't hear Suzaku, for he was speaking too quietly. "Ouwa!" Ah, Lelouch just slipped. A few people in the growing crowd gasped.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku yelled. There was the sound of sliding and a grunt or two. Now the voices were much closer to the ground. "Are you…Okay?" Suzaku asked, finding it somewhat hard to concentrate on both talking and holding on the both the windowsill and his best friend.

"Eh-Yeah." Lelouch told him. Rai realized that his body was tense, even though he knew that everything would be okay, he still felt worried about the two boys.

Just then Rai heard a clanking noise from above. He looked straight up the side of the building, and saw something falling towards him faster than he could dodge. The helmet hit Rai square in the face, and then rolled into a bush.

"Ouch!" Rai yelped, covering his face. "That wasn't supposed to happen-I don't think." Rai shook his head. He then walked over to the bush and picked up the helmet. "Wasn't this supposed to get caught on something on the roof after the cat shrugged it off? Sheesh, this is just wonderful. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that C.C. planned for this to happen." Rai sighed, then flattened the helmet and tucked inside his shirt, hoping that it didn't look too obvious that he had something.

"Bakura-kun, come over here!" One of Rai's classmates called him over. Rai gritted his teeth for a moment, and then complied. Walking out into the open and standing near his classmate and kinda-sorta friend, Kiyoshi, he saw Rivalz, Shirley, and Milly crowded around Suzaku, who was holding the cat. Arthur-said cat-did not look pleased. Milly had just said something about an embarrassing secret or something.

"So that's it, Madam President?" Lelouch's voice echoed from within the building. Milly gasped slightly, as if she forgot he was anywhere near. Everyone looked as Lelouch exited the building, a mildly trouble look on his face. He obviously hadn't found the mask.

"Aw! After all this time I thought I had some dirt on you!" Milly pouted.

"Yeah he almost lost his cool, for once." Shirley said, her arms crossed and her eyes downcast. Suzaku merely looked amused as he turned to Lelouch.

"So ah, do you two know each other, then?" Kallen asked. The two boys looked surprised at the question, as if unsure as to how to answer that.

"Yeah, but, he's an Eleven." Nina said. Rai nearly said; 'yeah, and you rape tables, so what?' Nina was his least favorite character. Rai honestly felt someone should have slapped her at some point and tell her to get a fucking grip.

"No, I just-." Suzaku tried to say.

"He's my friend." Lelouch told everyone, his tone saying 'You got a problem with that, losers?' "Madam President, would you permit him as a member of the Student Council?" Some people made confused noises at this. Lelouch continued. "The rules are clear. All students are required to join a club."

_Please don't look at me, please don't look at me. _Rai begged mentally. Thankfully no one did, except Kiyoshi, who just nudged Rai with his elbow.

"…Although…" And then Lelouch glanced in Rai's direction. Milly looked thoughtful for a moment, she thankfully did not see Lelouch's eyes flicker to the only student on campus that had so far successfully gotten away with not joining a club.

"Well, you are the Vice President. I suppose I can't refuse." Milly said. The other club members looked happy to hear this. Then Nunnally told the two boys to lean closer to her. They did and she kissed them both on the cheek. They were both surprised.

"There you go; the reward Miss Milly promised. Since you both caught the cat, you'll just have to settle for me, almost a real council member!" That's when the other council members began introducing themselves.

"Time for me to take my leave," Rai told Kiyoshi. "I don't want to get caught by Madam Prez." Kiyoshi nodded and was about to tell Rai something when-

"Oh, you're that guy who helped me the other day!" Suzaku said, now facing Rai's direction. Rai froze in place as everyone looked at him. He had an 'Oh, Shit' look on his face. Milly's lips curved into an evil smirk. She slowly made her way through the crowd towards him, like some kind of predator. Rai backed away two steps for her every three.

"Oh Rai-kun~!" Milly said in an overly cheerful voice. Suzaku looked very confused as to what was going on, everyone else look interested-like they were watching a very amusing comedy show.

"Twat?" Rai asked, looking around for an escaped route. Before he could make a get-away this time, Milly tackled him to the ground. Luckily for Rai, Milly couldn't feel the mask which had slipped down to his stomach when Rai fell. She straddled his waist and pinned his hands above his head. For a spilt-second, Rai was afraid that Milly was about to molest him.

"You're not getting away this time!" She proclaimed.

"Don't you think that's a little much, Madam President?" Lelouch asked, unable to hide the laughter in his voice. He was now standing only a few feet away. The other Student Council members had walked up to them as well. Suzaku still had the cutest puzzled look on his face.

"What's going on?" he asked everyone. Milly looked up at him from her position on top of Rai.

"This boy's name is Bakura, Rai. He's one grade lower than us and is the only kid in the whole student body to have ever gotten away with not being in a club." Her face twisted evilly. "…Until now. I thank you for pointing him out in the crowd, Suzaku-kun. It was because of you that I was finally able to catch this little guy." Suzaku looked guilty when she told him this.

"I'm sorry." He told Rai. Rai shrugged, and then started to struggle.

"Rivalz, go get a rope, we'll tie this sucker up and drag him to his new club." Milly announced, standing up and grabbing Rai by the back of his shirt collar.

"Hey! I'm not an animal; I'm a human being, stop it!" Rai tried to release himself from Milly's hold, but she wouldn't let go.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you started running around and acting like some lone wolf that didn't need to join a club!" Milly was enjoying herself; that much was clear.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Nunnally said as she rolled up to the group. "Why don't you let Bakura-kun join the Student Council as well?" Everyone looked at her oddly. "You said that he had refused to join a club so far, right?" Nunnally asked.

"Yeah, but why should we make him join the Student Council specifically, wouldn't any club work?" Nina asked. Milly's eye lit up with understanding and she snapped her fingers with the hand that wasn't holding Rai.

"Oh I get it. If we make him join any ol' club, he might just not show up." She said.

"Ah, but if we make him join the Student Council, then we can keep an eye on him and make sure he comes to the club meetings!" Rivalz told everyone. Nunnally nodded, after all that is exactly what she was thinking.

"Alright, then it's settled then, we have two new member of the Student Council!" Milly shouted, and then dragged Rai along with them as everyone made their way to a special school-wide assembly. The Emperor himself was going to make a statement on television.

"Wait, don't I have any say in this?!" Rai nearly shrieked as he followed Milly and the others unwillingly.

"No, not really." Milly told him.

* * *

Later that night, Lelouch entered his bedroom to see C.C. lying on his bed, holding onto his Zero helmet. She was looking at it from all different angles, not even bothering to look up at Lelouch. The book she was reading earlier that day was on Lelouch's desk.

"How'd you get it?" he asked, not sure as to why he was so surprised; C.C. was one of those people who seemed to be able to do whatever they pleased.

"An acquaintance of mine was walking past the clock tower when it fell and hit him on the head. It's a good thing that I had asked him to bring it to me if he found it." She told him. Lelouch went deathly pale.

"S-someone knows?!" Lelouch asked. C.C. rolled her eyes.

"Oh relax, Rai-kun said he wouldn't tell anyone that you are Zero, thought I have the strangest feeling that he knew that even before finding the mask. He truly is a peculiar boy…Oh well I'm certain he won't interfere. In fact, I don't think he really even wants to know exactly what we're up to…" C.C. frowned thoughtfully at the helmet. Lelouch grabbed it from her and put it in its hiding place.

Suddenly, the name C.C. had said registered.

Lelouch spun around and gaped at C.C.

"Bakura, Rai knows? How are you so sure that he won't tell anyone?" he demanded to know. In his head Lelouch was thinking of how he could keep Rai from telling anyone Lelouch's secret. C.C. rolled her eyes again.

"Because like I said, he seemed to have already known that you are Zero. He was acting like he had no idea, but Rai-kun is not a very good actor. If he didn't tell anyone before this, I doubt he will tell anyone now." C.C. said, looking Lelouch right in the eye. Lelouch thought for a moment, and then sighed.

"He could've just been waiting to get his hands on some hard evidence that I am Zero, and was only suspecting me before all of this. I'll just have to keep a close eye on him for now. Lucky for me, he's being forced into the Student Council, so that won't be too difficult. I can always use Geass and make someone tail him after club and during class." Lelouch nodded to himself. Now that he was beginning to come up with a plan on how to deal with Rai, he wasn't too terribly worried. After all, it's not like he even had much contact with Rai before this incident with the cat. How much could Rai possibly know about Lelouch being Zero?

How about _everything_?


	3. Chapter 3

Rai sat with his legs crisscrossed on the floor in front of the TV. In his left hand was a two-thirds full butterscotch pudding cup. In his right hand was a spoon. He had just turned on the news.

"Ah," he said. "So Cornelia has come into the game." He scooped a spoonful of pudding out of the cup and happily ate it.

"Military authorities report that they have surrounded the Saitama Ghetto; a known hiding place for terrorists. Viceroy Cornelia is also on the scene. Entry to that area has been restricted." The news reporter said.

"Wonderful." Rai muttered sarcastically, eating more pudding. "Now Lelouch is going to run into that with his guns half-cocked and believing that he will be the victor. Oh well, a good bitch-slap of reality will…do absolutely nothing to stop him." Rai was in a crummy mood. He got kicked out (not that he even wanted to be there in the first place.) of the Student Council meeting room by Shirley. Shirley wanted to talk to Kallen alone, and so she rudely booted Rai (who was tied to a rolling chair by Milly.) out into the hall, where he had to wait until some random passerby untied him. "She could've at least untied me before making me leave!" Rai complained. He then went back to watching the news.

"It appears that a full-scale assault will be launched in a few hours. Consequently, power will be shut off in the following areas-." before the news reporter could say anymore, Rai turned off the TV.

"Pudding gone." He told the TV for no apparent reason. He went to the garbage basket and threw the empty pudding cup away. He then rinsed off the spoon and put it in the dishwasher. "What do I want to do now?" Rai wondered aloud. He glanced outside. It was a beautifully sunny day, with few clouds in the sky. "I suppose I could go for a walk…but stay as far from Saitama Ghetto as humanly possible." Rai decided. He changed into a pair of regular blue jeans, black sneakers, a white t-shirt with a dark blue zip-up jacket. He then walked out of his dorm room, making sure to lock it before closing the door. He left the boy's dormitory and walked lazily towards the school's main gates.

"Hey, Rai-kun!" Rai turned around at the sound of someone calling him. He looked to see Suzaku jogging up to him. He was wearing blue slacks, brown sneakers, and a bole (a shade of brown.) colored t-shirt with a thin, unbuttoned, light purple jacket. Rai noticed that there was a band-aid on his right hand.

"Did the cat bite you again?" Rai chuckled. Suzaku's face redden in embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah…So where are you heading off to?" Suzaku asked. Rai shrugged neutrally.

"Anywhere I suppose, I have no homework, and there's no club meeting that I have to hide from, so I'm going to just go for a walk." Rai paused for a moment in thought. "Would you like to come with me?" Rai offered. Suzaku gave Rai a bright smile.

"Sure, I'm done with work and my homework, not to mention Shirley got upset with me and forced me out of the meeting room." Suzaku laughed nervously at the end of what he had said. As they walked out the gate, Rai rolled his eyes.

"Well at least she didn't leave you tied to a chair outside of meeting room. I took me nearly an hour-and lots of yelling-to get someone to hear me and untie me." Rai told him. Suzaku let out a gentle laugh at that. They stood on the corner of the block, waiting for the light to change.

"Can't really blame her though, Shirley's dealing with a kind of confusing situation right now." Suzaku explained. Rai sighed.

"She really ought to just tell poor Lelouch-sempai that she likes him and get it over with." Rai said. Suzaku shook his head as they crossed the street.

"It's not that simple. She's probably worried that he might reject her feelings for him." Suzaku told Rai.

"Yeah right." Rai murmured sarcastically under his breath. Suzaku didn't hear him. "I guess you're right. Things are never that simple, but it'd be nice if they were." Rai said loud enough this time for Suzaku to hear him. Suzaku nodded in agreement.

They continued walking together, talking about a variety of different things. They stopped at a small restaurant and sat at one of the outside tables. Luckily Rai had brought his wallet with him, so they decided to split the cost of the food. While they waited for their food to arrive, Suzaku told Rai about his life before Japan became Area 11. Rai already knew the gist of it, but was happy to hear the story from Suzaku himself. Suzaku told him about when he first met Lelouch, and how he didn't like him at first, but that they became the best of friends.

Their food was brought to their table. Suzaku had ordered a small bowl of curry and a root beer, while Rai had ordered a thing of yakitori and a strawberry milkshake.

"So, what was your life like before this? Did you always live here or did you use to live somewhere else?" Suzaku asked Rai. Rai had a moment of panic, but didn't let it show on his face. He didn't think that Suzaku would believe him if he told the truth. Rai wasn't sure if he could lie very well, but seeing as people tended to deceive Suzaku easily, it was worth a shot. Rai adopted a solemn expression.

"My grandparents are from here, but they moved to the homeland of Britannia when my mother was five. I'm half Japanese, as my father is a Britannian. My mother died when I was twelve and it was just me and my father for a while." Rai smiled bitterly for a moment. "But just two years after my mother's death, my father got remarried to a horrible woman. She would always make backhanded comments about me being half Japanese. And she would keep telling Father that she wanted her _own_ children, not a step-son. My father is so deeply-and stupidly-in love with her that he decided to ship me off here. He said it was about time that I learned how to be on my own any way." Rai glared off into the distance.

This, of course, was a complete and utter fabrication. Probably the most ridiculous lie Rai had ever told. The only remotely truths were the bit about his grandparent moving away from Japan with his mother, and the fact that his parents weren't together anymore. They had separated when Rai was six. His mother was alive and well, probably off with her new boy toy in the Bahamas. His father did get remarried, but to a wonderful woman who Rai loved more than his biological mother. His step-mom's name was Moyra and in fact, Milly reminded him of her. Moyra was always teasing him, trying to dress him up like a girl, and generally terrorizing him. But Rai would always find a way to get back at her.

For instance, Moyra made Rai wear a pink, frilly dress on the day of Rai's father and Moyra's wedding. Rai was the best man for Pete's sake! Rai still didn't know how on Earth Moyra convinced his father to allow it. But Rai got back by bribing his little cousins into dropping the wedding cake on top of Moyra (and Rai's poor unsuspecting father.) from the first floor balcony. Moyra wasn't mad about it, but she did take a picture of Rai in the dress and emailed it to everyone at Rai's school. Their little war was an ongoing thing, but Rai actually found it to be a lot of fun.

Suzaku gave Rai an understanding look. _Wow, _Rai thought. _He actually bought it…I _really _hope this doesn't bite me in the ass later…_ Rai nearly frowned at the thought, knowing he was never that lucky.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Suzaku told him. Rai shot him a funny look.

"Why? It's not your fault. I'm actually glad that I'm here. I would have never met you if I wasn't sent here." Rai froze the moment the words came out of his mouth. It wasn't a lie, but Rai couldn't believe he actually said that to Suzaku. Rai could feel a blush cover his face as he quickly looked away from Suzaku. What Rai had said just sounded so…_girly_! He couldn't believe himself.

There was silence at the table. Rai was looking out into the street, blushing like a school girl on a date with her crush. The shear thought of that made Rai blush even more. Not to mention that the longer Suzaku stayed silent, but more panicked Rai felt. And then, just when Rai couldn't take it anymore:

"…Thanks." Suzaku said. Rai turned to him and saw that Suzaku had his normal, kind smile across his lips.

"For what?" asked Rai, barely able to make the words come out of his mouth.

"For telling me that. It's nice to know that there's somebody who is actually _happy _to know me." Suzaku told Rai, his eyes lowering to the table.

"But there are a lot of people who are happy to know you!" Rai blurted out; really wishing that the filter between his brain and his mouth would turn on at some point. Suzaku looked back at him, puzzled. "Lelouch-sempai, Nunnally-chan, all the kids on the student council, and I'm sure that your coworkers like you. Granted, you haven't been at Ashford for very long, and yeah you didn't exactly get a warm welcome. But once people get to know you, they figure out that you're actually a nice guy." Rai was really, really wishing that the filter would start working. Suzaku blink owlishly at Rai, obviously not expecting Rai's awkward pep-talk. Suzaku smiled at Rai again, and then glanced at the big digital clock that was on the side of one of the buildings.

"Oh, it's almost past curfew! We should head back." Suzaku said. Rai nodded in agreement. They paid for the food and then made their way back toward school. Once again there was silence, and it made Rai very nervous.

_Now he probably thinks I'm a total weirdo! Okay, I might be little abnormal, but this just makes me a complete dweb! Suzaku's not going to talk to me ever again after this!_ Rai thought miserably, frowning._ …Holy shit, I sound like a girl…I wonder if the effects of Scott's last experiment on me haven't quite worn off yet… _Rai last time Scott had used Rai as a guinea pig, he made Rai drink some strange liquid and Rai turned into a girl for a whole week! Suddenly Rai heard Suzaku chuckling. Rai looked and saw Suzaku looking back at him and laughing softly.

"…What?" Rai asked, a now confused look crossed his face. For some strange reason, it only made Suzaku laugh even more.

"I'm sorry but…you've been making strange faces as we've been walking." Suzaku told him. Rai, who had only just recently gotten rid of his blush, felt it come back again immediately. He looked away from Suzaku and mumbled nonsensical words darkly for several seconds, which made Suzaku laugh yet again.

They were at the main gate now. Suzaku stopped Rai from entering the school grounds by grabbing Rai's upper arm lightly. "But…" Suzaku said, towering slightly over the younger boy. Rai went an even darker shade of red as Suzaku leaned closer. "It's actually kind of cute." Suzaku told him, their noses almost touching. Rai stared into Suzaku's green eyes and saw nothing that could hint that Suzaku might be messing with him. Before Rai could form words, let alone a complete sentence, Suzaku let go of Rai's arm and quickly disappeared into the school grounds. Rai blinked stupidly for a few moments, and then walked through the gate, which automatically slammed shut after him.

"Ack! Must be curfew." Rai glared at the gate. The gate did not respond. Rai sighed, turning away from the gate and heading towards the school's athletic building. He knew he wouldn't be able to go to sleep for a while thanks to Suzaku, so he decided to grab his swimming trunks from his locker and go for an early evening swim. He doubted anyone else would be in the pool room at this time.

* * *

Rai was starting to despise Murphy's Law.

Rai walked into the pool room wearing his swimming trunks and holding a white fluffy towel in his right hand.

And saw Lelouch lounging by the pool typing on a laptop, and C.C. swimming in the pool.

Rai froze in mid-step.

Lelouch looked up and stared at Rai in mildly horrified surprise.

C.C. simply waved.

"Uh, Hi." Rai greeted the two of them. "Bye!" He whirled around and reached for the door.

"Wait." Lelouch ordered. Rai froze again, and then turned around to see Lelouch walking toward him. Lelouch now had a neutral expression on his face. Rai backed up into the door, cursing himself for not looking before he just walked in. Lelouch came to a stop about two feet away from Rai. Lelouch watched Rai carefully. "What are you doing here?" Lelouch asked. Rai smiled in a way that said 'I am completely and totally terrified at this very moment.' and then nodded toward the pool.

"I couldn't sleep so I thought I might go for a swim. But if you guys are using the pool, then I'll just leave-!?" He was silenced by Lelouch (who was just like Suzaku-taller than Rai.) suddenly looming over Rai, one hand slamming right next to either side of Rai's head. Lelouch was giving him the scariest demonic glare that Rai had ever seen. Just then Rai remembered that Lelouch had Geass, so Rai clamped his eyes shut and cringed against the door, pretending to flinch from Lelouch's sudden movement. There was an unsettling silence. Rai could only hear his own shaky, shallow breaths, and Lelouch's calm, steady ones.

"…You know that I have Geass." Lelouch accused. Rai kept his eyes closed tight and tensed. "How do you know that, and why haven't you told anyone?" Lelouch asked. Rai hesitated before answering.

"…That's none of your business." Rai tried to say it coldly, but it sounded like more of a slight squeak. There was more silence. Rai could feel Lelouch's warm breath on his face. Then Lelouch chuckled.

"Is that so?" he asked in an amused tone, obviously knowing that Rai was scared. Rai suddenly felt angry that he was being intimidated by a fucking _cartoon_ _character_. He might be a real person here, but it was Rai who had the advantage.

Rai stood up a little straighter, ignoring the feeling of Lelouch's arms now lightly resting on his shoulders.

"Yeah, that so. What I know, and how I know it is none of your concern, Lelouch Vi Britannia." Rai said. He heard Lelouch gasp slightly. "All you need to know is that I won't rat you out to anyone, and that I don't really give a damn about what you're planning. So," Rai opened his eyes and gave a surprised Lelouch the most determined glare Rai could muster. "So back off and leave me the hell alone." Rai didn't yell, but simply spoke the words in a calm voice. Yes, he was still scared out of his mind. Hello, he just told a very dangerous guy with a very dangerous power, to go piss off. Normally that never ends well.

Lelouch stared at Rai, surprised that the boy who at first glance seemed to a weak-willed individual, was actually the very opposite. Rai's sepia eyes practically glowed with stubbornness. The look disappeared, however, when he saw Lelouch's lips curl into an evil smirk. Rai realized that he was looking into Lelouch's eyes.

_Shit!_ Rai swore silently. He couldn't move, stuck in place with his eyes open, by fear. Lelouch lowered one of his hands and held Rai chin with his forefinger and thumb. He studied Rai for a long time.

"…How about this? I won't use my Geass on you if," Lelouch leaned even closer to Rai and whispered in the boy's ear. "You join me and do as I command." When Lelouch moved back to see Rai's face, Rai gave him a very confused and very frightened look. The first thing that flashed in Rai's mind was that Lelouch might make if do something perverted if Rai agreed. But then Rai reminded himself that Lelouch wouldn't do that kind of thing…That was more Milly's style.

"Why would you want me to join you?" Rai asked suspiciously. Lelouch removed his hand from Rai's chin, and then ran his fingers through Rai's hair, petting him. This made Rai bristle a bit, not liking the idea of somebody treating him like a dog.

"Because, that way I can keep an eye on you-that is, an even closer one than I do now." That didn't reassure Rai one little bit. "And also, if you ever do try to tell anyone about me or my plans…" Lelouch's expression turned downright _evil_. "I can simply tip off the police that you are part of a terrorist cell. They'll more ready to believe an upstanding student than a mysterious boy who appear only half a year ago and is sprouting ridiculous things about a dead prince." Lelouch told Rai, removing his hand from Rai's hair and stepping away from Rai's person. "So? What will you do?" Lelouch asked, although he already knew the answer. Rai clenched his hands into fists and glared at Lelouch. Rai's teeth were bared as his lips formed a snarl.

"Not like I have much of a choice." Rai growled through gritted teeth. "If I refuse you'll either use Geass on me to force me to do whatever you want, or you'll just go to the authorities and tell them that you've found a strange kid in your school that's been acting suspicious. And went they look at my record-or lack thereof-they'll assume that I'm some kind of spy or terrorist." Rai said, hating the feeling of powerlessness that he had right now. "Fine, I'll join you." Rai told Lelouch. Lelouch said nothing at first, merely continued to smirk at Rai. He then suddenly turned around and stalked back to the pool chair he had been sitting on only minutes before.

"Go to bed Rai." Lelouch ordered him. Rai glared and was about to tell him to go jump off a bridge when he remembered that he just agreed to basically be Lelouch's damn dog.

"Hn, whatever you say." Rai grunted, sounding a lot like Sasuke from Naruto. He turned and left the room.

When they were alone, C.C. finally spoke up.

"I honestly thought you were going to make him call you 'Master' or something silly like that." C.C. told Lelouch. Lelouch went back to typing on his laptop.

"I'm not _that_ full of myself." Lelouch sounded somewhat defensive about that.

"Ah, so you thought about it." C.C. pulled herself out of the pool, and grabbed the towel that Rai didn't even know he had dropped. Lelouch shot her an annoyed glance.

"I believe I'd have to use Geass on him in order to make him do anything of that sort." Lelouch said. "And I wouldn't waste Geass on something as ridiculous as that."

C.C. frowned at Lelouch as she toweled herself dry.

"I thought you promised not to use Geass on Rai." C.C. said. Lelouch didn't even bother looking up from his computer.

"I lied." He told her blandly.


	4. Chapter 4

Rai sat on the aquamarine colored couch, glaring at the wall opposite of him. The couch curved a bit, and looked like an upside-down 'J'. Lelouch-in his Zero disguise-was sitting in the middle of the couch were it was curving. Rai was sitting to Lelouch's right, on the part of the couch that was straight (insert joke here.).

While Lelouch was wearing his Zero outfit, Rai had his own disguise on. He didn't wear a mask like Lelouch, however. Rai was wearing a wig that was short, messy, dark blue hair with silver streaks, and contacts that made his eye color red instead of sepia. He had a white medical eye-patch covering his left eye. His outfit was the Black Knights uniform, The jacket was mainly black, the shoulders were medium gray, there were white lines going down different parts of the uniform, and gold buttons, one was on the right-next to Rai's collar bone, and the other one on the left. He was wearing black combat boots with his dark grey slacks.

Rai had also made a fake scar going across his neck, making it look as if someone had tried to slit his throat at some point. Another thing Rai had done was make a fake tattoo that was on his left shoulder. It was the Black Knight's symbol. Rai's mother was a big-time actress and had dated a makeup artist back when Rai's parents had only been divorced for a year. The makeup artist had shown Rai how to do a lot of cool things to change a person's appearance.

The door slide open and Rai could hear someone gasp in surprise.

"What are you waiting for?" Zero asked the people who were standing stupidly outside. "Come in." he ordered the group. "As of now this place will be our hideout." Zero told them. One of the rebels walked in.

"So, you think joining up with us is a good idea?" he asked. Rai watched the man wander around the transport. If he remembered correctly from what Lelouch had told him, the man's name was Kaname, Ohgi.

"Yes, we're comrades after all." Zero said. Rai almost rolled his eyes, but didn't because it wasn't time yet for Rai to start his 'act'.

"Holy cow, so what is this huh?" Asked another man who had walked in. This one's name was Shinichirō, Tamaki. Rai noticed that Kallen walked in after Tamaki. They all looked around. Ohgi turned to Zero.

"Do you mind if I ask how you came by this?" Ohgi asked.

"I borrowed it from a rather libertine nobleman who indulges my requests." Zero explained. Rai wanted to call bullshit on that, but kept his mouth shut as more of the rebels entered the giant transport vehicle.

"You asked for it, just like that?" Ohgi asked, incredulously.

"Don't worry, no strings attached." Zero told him.

"The only payment is your soul." Rai muttered darkly. Zero looked at him with what Rai could only assume was a warning look (kind of hard to tell when someone's wearing a mask.).

"It's huge." One of the rebels commented.

"Check it out; it's got a second story." Another rebel said.

"On the other hand no one would expect us in something like this." Kallen said.

"Yeah, it's only one humongous eye sore, it should be easy to hide." Rai couldn't help but mutter again. Zero purposefully ignored him.

"It's even got a TV." Yoshitaka, Minami-if Rai was right-said, turning on the TV.

"How are things looking at the scene?!" a male news reporter asked excitedly. Everyone looked and saw a female news reporter standing outside somewhere, with a building floating offshore in the background.

"What's this?" Kallen asked, stepping closer.

"I'm here in front of the Lake Kawaguchi Conventions Center Hotel." The reporter said.

"Try to say that five times fast." Rai muttered, only to get nudged by Zero to be quiet.

"The hotel-jackers have identified themselves as the Japan Liberation Front" the reporter continued. There was a collective gasp. Rai raised his eye brows in fake surprise and leaned in closer, trying to make it look as if he was truly surprised.

"What happening?" Ohgi asked, confused.

"Members of the Sakuradite Delegation Meeting, most notably Chairman James, were taken hostage as well as several tourists and hotel employees." The screen change to a video, taped by the hotel-jackers as the woman continued to speak. "This footage was taken by perpetrators." The camera made a wide sweep of what looked to be a storage room with the hostages sitting on their knees with their hands behind their heads. There were several men with guns surrounding the hostages. "In it you and clearly see-." Rai stopped listening for a moment, even though he couldn't see it right know, he remembered from the anime what was being shown on the TV right now.

"Shit." Rai grumbled. Kallen gasped.

"From the Student Council." She whispered. Rai glanced at Zero, and saw he was now looking in the direction of the soon-to-be Black Knights who were huddled by the TV.

"The leader of the group claims to be Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe-." Rai stood up and walked over to the TV. He stood next to Kallen and frowned slightly.

_I wonder if Lelouch is going to make _me_ go with him on the rescue mission._ Rai thought. He decided that that is what would most likely happen. Hey, if Rai died in the attack, then that would one less thing for Lelouch to worry about. Rai scowled at the idea as it popped into his head.

"-Sakuradite, an essential component in the manufacturer of temperature super conductors, is a vital strategic resource that directly affects world security-." About that time Rai walked away from the TV and walked up the stairs. He went to where Lelouch had told him earlier his weapons would be. Rai found a medium sized cardboard box and opened it. Inside were a mini-machinegun of sorts, a hand pistol, and a knife with a holster. Rai glared at the box, wondering what exactly did Lelouch expect him to do with this stuff, especially since Rai was against killing people unless absolutely necessary.

Rai wasn't totally powerless on his own. One of Rai's mother's ex-boyfriends was a stuntman who worked in martial arts movies, and he taught Rai a lot about fighting. It was funny because 90% of the former Mrs. Bakura's boyfriends were actually good guys who would spend time with Rai willingly and not just to get in good graces with his mother.

In fact, Rai could only remember a few guys that were assholes to him. One of them (Rai remembered the man was the manager of some barely famous actor.) had actually had the gull to hit Rai. This was the boyfriend a couple guys after the stuntman, so Rai had grabbed Mr. Manager by his arm and threw him over Rai's shoulder and onto the ground. Rai's mother came into the room at that moment. The man told her that Rai had just suddenly attacked him for no reason. Rai's mother then told Thrash and Skull (her live-in body guards.) to 'escort' the man out of the house. She promptly told him that their relationship was over and that Thrash and Skull were to teach him what happens when you mess with an obscenely rich actress' child.

Rai heard a couple weeks later (from his mother's new boyfriend.) that Mr. Manager had moved to Cambodia.

Rai walked out of the room and saw Kallen kneeling over a cardboard box. He could also hear voices downstairs.

_They're getting everything ready now._ Rai thought. Rai saw Kallen look up and over to a room that was slightly before the one Rai had just exited. Rai could hear Shirley's father being interviewed. Rai walked into the room to see that Zero was watching the news on a laptop. He seemed to be in deep thought.

Rai went to the desk that the computer was on and sat on top of it. He placed a carefree smile on his face as he swung his legs back and forth. Lelouch and he agreed that as well as changing Rai's appearance, that Rai should act differently than normal as well, that way no one would think that they were the same person. Rai's fake name, the one he was to tell the other Black Knights and anyone who was around while Rai was in disguise, was Akuma (Japanese for devil.). Basically Rai was to act like an insane, blood-thirsty, overall just mentally unstable guy. Rai, unfortunately, knew how to act that way…Rai decided then that he really needed to get normal friends when he got back home.

"Zero," Kallen said, walking in with a green bundle in her arms. She gave Rai a strange look when she saw him. Rai simply gave her a wolfish grin and waved. "What will happen to the hostages?" Kallen asks, turning her gaze to Zero instead of Rai. Zero muted the laptop with a remote.

"Eventually there will be no reason to keep those Britannians alive." Zero told her.

"Yeah," Kallen hugged the bundle closer to her chest. "I'm sure you're right." Kallen whispered. Rai watched the door open.

"Hey Zero, I found these." Ohgi walked in, holding a cardboard box. He gave Rai the same look Kallen did before looking at Zero. "Should I hand them out to everyone?" he asked. Inside the box were the uniforms. "I mean, as far as gear goes it looks pretty hip, but we're just a resistance group. So-."

"Wrong." Zero interrupted him. "We're not a resistance group. Is that clear?" Zero asked. Ohgi looked confused.

"Well, then what are we?" Ohgi asked. Rai rolled his eyes and let out a childish giggle as Zero stood up from his chair. The sound seemed to slightly unnerve Ohgi and Kallen because they glanced at Rai again before looking back at Zero. Zero faced the two of them

"What we are-what we're trying to be-are knights for justice!" Zero said with passion, lifting his right arm out to the side and clenching his fingers slightly in a dramatic way. Rai giggled again. Zero looked back at him in a way that Rai assumed was mild annoyance. He then told the others to continue getting ready and ordered Rai to help with the preparations.

Rai followed Kallen and Ohgi out of the room, skipping. When they got to the stairs, Rai suddenly ran past Kallen and Ohgi and did a flying leap. His feet hit the wall at the end of the landing and he bounced off that, landing in the middle of the room downstairs. Everyone blinked stupidly at him. Rai then simply walked over to a random box and started unpacking it as if nothing had happened. After a few moments the others went back to work, talking to each other in whispers.

"Who's that guy?" One asked.

"Dunno, he was here before we even got here." Another replied.

"Maybe he's Zero right-hand man." A different one offered.

"No he's not. Akuma's a…well the best way to describe him is a half-wild mutt that I have to keep an eye on, but does what I tell him to…most of the time." Zero told everyone as he also walked downstairs.

Rai just looked up and gave everyone a crazy-looking smile.

* * *

Rai laughed manically as they drove towards where the military was staging its operations concerning the hotel-jacking. He honestly thought it was funny that they had just stolen a news van. It was dark and cramped in the van. Rai could smell the body odor of the other guys in the van. Rai was actually lying on the floor, making there be even less room for the rest of the people. Everyone was wearing the Black Knights uniforms and their visors on over their eyes. Even Rai was wearing a visor, although it annoyed him because his vision was already hampered since he was wearing an eye patch. Now he had to wear this annoying thing. At the moment Zero was standing on the roof of the van.

"Hey, when Zero went off about justice earlier, what do you think he meant?" Ohgi asked Kallen. They were both in the front of the van.

"Don't know." Kallen said. Rai began giggling again. Kallen turned her head quickly towards him.

"What are you laughing about?!" she snapped. Rai suddenly changed his expression from one of insane glee to one of complete seriousness.

"Zero meant exactly what he said." Rai told them gravely. There was a pause, and then Rai began to giggle again, much to everyone's ire.

"I'm just wondering why we didn't take that other vehicle." One of the other people crowed in the back asked.

"Oh, so you want the whole world to see where we hide out?" a different guy pointed out.

"Point taken." The first guy said.

"I don't know this Zero character. You sure we should trust him?"

"No, that's why I said he looks shifty to me. But if anything goes wrong I'll do something about it." The guy told her, hitting his fist to the palm of his other hand. Rai decided to giggle again, which caused everyone to glare at him.

"You don't have to worry about that, Zero knows what he's doing." Rai told them. "But as to if you should trust him or not…" Rai grinned up at the people looking down at him. "That's all up to you individually." Rai shrugged. He then closed his eyes and pretended like he was sleeping.

"God, that Akuma guy's weird." One of them whispered to the others.

"Yeah, what kind of parent name's their kid 'devil'?" Rai was certain it was Tamaki who said that.

Rai could hear someone talking outside of the van, but couldn't hear what was being said.

"Cornelia, which would you chose, Clovis who is dead or Euphemia who is alive?" Zero asked.

"Ah, so there's a princess among the captives." Rai observed aloud.

"How did Zero know that?" Ohgi asked. Rai giggled.

"Oh, he didn't _know_. He simply guessed as to why the military is stalling in its actions." Rai told them.

"That makes sense." Kallen said uncertainly.

"It's within my power to save Euphemia for you." Zero told Cornelia. There was the murmur of someone else talking. "I said that I am able to rescue her!" Zero shouted. And just like that, the van was allowed to pass through the military barrier.

* * *

"You have no intention of joining me?" Zero asked. Rai stood next to him on the opposite side of the room of the Lieutenant Colonel. Rai was eyeing the man's guards in boredom. At least that's what it looked like, but inside he was very anxious to get off of the room as soon as possible.

"Remove that mask and reveal your real face." The leader of the hotel-jackers ordered. "It's disrespectful to hold on to." He said. Rai rolled his eyes, knowing there was no way that Lelouch was going to do that.

"I understand. But before I do, I'd like to ask you something. What exactly do you hope to accomplish by this action?" Zero inquired.

"Gain attention." The man said arrogantly. "I want this country and the world to know that the Japanese aren't dead yet." Rai yawned at the man's statement, and then started to examine his fingernails in a feminine way.

"How stale." Zero sneered. The Lieutenant Colonel looked angered by this. "You people are obsolete. There's no saving you." He told them. Rai nodded in agreement, not bothering to look up from his nails, which he was now cleaning with his knife.

"What?! Why you arrogant-." One of the hotel-jackers was cut off by his boss.

"Explain what you mean by that, Zero." The Lieutenant Colonel said. Just then someone outside of the room said that they had brought Princess Euphemia. "Zero, there's no point in talking anymore!" The Lieutenant Colonel drew his sword and charged at Zero. Before he could get to Zero, even before Lelouch could use Geass on the man, there was a gun shot. The man's head exploded on contact with the bullet, blood and brain matter flying everywhere. Everyone looked shocked at Rai, whose pistol's barrel had smoke coming out of it. Rai inspected his gun, turning all different ways as he observed it.

"My, my, my-What caliber is this? It made his head go boom." Rai said in a disinterested voice. He couldn't believe he had just done that. Rai hadn't even consciously thought about shooting the man, it was just an automatic reaction. _Oh my God, Oh my God, holy shit I just killed somebody! Why'd I do that?! _Rai was just as shocked as everyone else. The now dead Lieutenant Colonel's men went to attack, but Lelouch then used his Geass and ordered them to kill themselves. The men outside must have heard the gunshots, because they came busting into the room. Zero shot one of them in the arm, causing the man to drop his gun.

"Calm yourselves." Zero told them. The man who was shot fell to his knees.

"Zero." Princess Euphemia said.

"The Colonel and the others committed suicide when they realized how meaningless this operation was." Zero explained. The Colonel's body was hidden so that they could see everything, except how the head was missing. "Euphemia, you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the commoners…you haven't changed." Zero said, whispering the last part. The princess looked confused by what he said. He ordered the J.L.F. men to stand outside, while Euphemia walked into the room. Rai went to the door, and smiled cheerfully at the men before slamming it in their faces. "I heard that you're the Sub-Viceroy now, your highness. Princess Euphemia Li Britannia." Zero told her.

"It's not an appointment that I'm happy with." Euphemia said in all honesty.

"No…That's because Clovis was murdered. That was my handiwork." Zero sounded as if he was bragging for a moment. Euphemia had a very hurt look on her face at the mention of her half-brother's murder. "He begged pathetically for his life to the very end." As Zero spoke, Euphemia began to have an angry expression on her face. "He pleaded with the same tongue that ordered the deaths of Elevens." Zero said.

"So, it that the reason why you killed my brother?" Euphemia asked, almost-but not quite glaring at Zero.

"No." Zero said. Rai was still leaning against the door, watching the conversation.

"Then why?" she demanded. There was a pause.

"Because Clovis was an offspring of the Britannian Emperor." Zero told her. Euphemia was surprised by this answer. "That reminds me," Zero said in a dangerous tone. He pulled out a gun. "You're one of his children too, aren't you?" he asked, pointing the gun at her. Rai let out a well timed creepy giggle. He didn't know exactly why he was fake-giggling so much. He thought that maybe that's what crazy people did. His friends back home would always chuckle at inappropriate times whenever they were off their medication…Rai really needed get normal friends.

* * *

"My Dear Britannians," Zero spoke into the camera. "Have no fear. All of the hostages from the hotel are safe and sound. I, Zero, return them to you unharmed." Rai watched one of the Black Knights film the hostages in the life boats. Then the spotlights turned on, revealing the Black Knights standing behind Zero, with Rai actually sitting on Zero's immediate left instead of standing with the others. "People! Fear us, or rally behind us as you see fit. We are the Black Knights!" Rai waved to the camera as Zero said this.

"We of the Black Knights stand with all those who have no weapons to wield, regardless if they are Elevens or Britannians! The Japan Liberation Front cowardly took innocent Britannian civilians hostage, and then mercilessly executed them! It was a wanton and meaningless act. Therefore they have been punished. Just as former Viceroy Clovis was punished for ordering the slaughter of countless unarmed Elevens." Zero said. Rai stretched like at cat, acting as if the speech was boring-which is was. "We cannot stand by and allow such cruelty to be carried out. And so we made him pay for his actions. I will not repudiate battle on a fair and level field, but neither will I tolerate a one-sided massacre of the weak by the strong. The only ones, who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed! Wherever oppressors have used their power by attacking those who are powerless, we shall appear again. No matter how mighty, how formidable our foe may be." Zero continued. His didn't even notice that now Rai had actually fallen asleep while he was talking. "Those of you with power-fear us! Those of you without it-rally behind us!" Zero lifted his arms is a dramatic way. We, the Black Knights, shall be the ones who stand in judgment of this world!"

With that, Zero speech was over. The hostages were returned to their loved ones, and the Black Knights disappeared before Cornelia's forces could get their hands on the terrorists.

* * *

Lelouch couldn't believe it. Rai actually had the audacity to fall asleep! And now, the moron wouldn't wake up!

Lelouch struggled as he carried Rai across the school grounds. It was hard enough sneaking back in just on his own, but now he had to carry this guy and try not to drop him (no matter how tempting it was.)! Lelouch was exhausted, there was no way he would be able to carry Rai all the way back to the boy's dorm. The closest place was Lelouch and Nunnally's apartment (I'm not sure what else to call it.). If Rai had a problem with it when he woke up, then he'd just have to deal with it because it was Rai's fault for making Lelouch carry him back home.

Lelouch fumbled with the door, finally getting it open after a few minutes. He was relieved when he discovered that Nunnally was sound asleep. Lelouch was about to drop Rai on the couch, but then realized that Sayoko or Nunnally might find him in the morning. Although that would be easy to explain, Lelouch decided he'd rather not have Nunnally accidently let that slip to Milly…who would twist everything around for her perverted enjoyment. Since all either of them would do is knock on Lelouch's door in the morning, there was less of a chance of Rai being discovered if Lelouch hid him there. Lelouch stumbled slightly as he carried Rai into his bedroom.

C.C. openly stared as Lelouch entered, holding Rai bridal-style in his arms. She looked as if she was going to comment, but Lelouch stopped her.

"This is not what it looks like. I'm just bringing him here because the boy's dorm is too far for me to carry him." Lelouch told her. C.C. didn't seem to believe him.

"Where are you going to put him?" C.C. asked, acting as if Rai was a piece of furniture rather than a person. Lelouch blinked. He hadn't thought of that. But right about now he was simply too tired to care, let alone think about things very clearly.

"The bed." Lelouch said. C.C. got off of the bed and went to her little nest that she had made in Lelouch's closet…using Lelouch's best clothes. Lelouch ignored her and set Rai on the bed, making sure to take the boy's shoes off. Rai was still wearing his disguise, so Lelouch (who was still too tired to actually think about things thoroughly.) striped Rai of his clothing including his wig and the eye patch, and hid them under the bed. Rai was now in only his light blue boxers, and still dead to the world. Lelouch then took off his own clothes and peeled back the bed covers. He also made sure Rai was under the covers before he finally went out like a light. Lelouch didn't feel it when Rai cuddled up to him in his sleep. Lelouch even wrapped his arms around the boy in his sleep, who in turn buried his face in Lelouch's neck.

C.C. laughed silently, knowing that tomorrow was going to be interesting when Lelouch would demand to know why C.C. didn't point out the flaw in Lelouch's sleep-deprived thinking. Although, C.C. almost felt sorry for Rai…but the feeling vanished just as quickly as it almost came.

**A/N: Tee hee hee, morning's going to come with a rude awakening. Poor Rai.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to Frieda for reviewing. **

Rai sat and ignored the others as Suzaku and Rivalz held Lelouch down so that Shirley could draw whiskers on Lelouch's face. Lelouch was also tied to the chair he was sitting in. Rai was sitting by himself on one side of the meeting table, while the others were on the opposite side, all dressed up as cats. Rai himself was wearing fake cat ears the same color as his wheat-brown hair, and whiskers already drawn on his face by Milly. He had brown kitty-paw gloves lying on the table in front of him. The reason he wasn't wearing them was because he was reading a book.

Well, trying to read, at least.

Rai's mind was too occupied about what had happened a few days ago. How he woke up not only in Lelouch's bedroom, but in Lelouch's arms!

_~A Few Days Ago~_

The very first thing Rai noticed as he slowly awoke was that he was completely and utterly comfortable. He didn't want to get up for class. Then he vaguely remembered that today they had the day off school. Rai smiled lazy and cuddled into the warmth that he felt surround him. He snuggled against what he believed to be his pillow, the rays of the morning sun filtering in through the barely open curtains. For some strange reason, his pillow smelled amazing this morning. As he inhaled deeply, he felt his pillow shift around a bit-

Wait a minute!

Rai's eyes snapped open and all he saw was somebody's neck. He jerked back in surprise and sat up to see who it was that sneaked into his room.

Or what he thought at the moment was his room.

Rai gapped dumbly at the still sleeping Lelouch, whose arms tighten around Rai's waist when Rai moved.

Rai could feel a cold dread slowly wash down him like icy water.

He tried to pull himself out of Lelouch's grip, but Lelouch let out a warning growl in his sleep. With a speed that Rai didn't believe sleeping people could possibly have, Lelouch pulled Rai back down onto the bed and wrapped his arms even tighter around the smaller boy. Rai squeaked in surprise as he found himself pressed firmly into Lelouch's chest. Rai could've sworn he heard a snicker from somewhere behind him, but couldn't look because he couldn't move his body.

"L-Lelouch-sempai!" Rai whispered, hoping that Lelouch would wake up and let him go.

Lelouch opened his eyes groggily and looked down slightly to see a very embarrassed, blushing Rai trying to pull away from him. Lelouch, still half-asleep, closed his eyes again.

And then he snapped them back open.

"Rai?!" Lelouch shrieked, immediately releasing Rai and falling out of the bed.

There was a knock at Lelouch's bedroom door.

"Big brother, is everything alright?" Nunnally's voice came from the other side of the door. Lelouch scrambled to get up.

"Y-yes! I just accidently fell out of bed, nothing to worry about!" Lelouch said shouted to her, quickly grabbing some pants out of his drawer and putting them on.

"Well, okay!" Nunnally said. They heard her wheelchair drive away from the door and off to some other part of Lelouch and Nunnally's apartment. Both boys let out a sigh of relief.

Lelouch looked at his bed and almost gasped at the sight. Rai was still sitting in his bed, his lower half tangled up in the sheets. Rai's upper body was naked, his chest heaving slightly. His skin was smooth and light colored, as if he didn't go out in the sun very often. Lelouch's eyes traveled up Rai's body some more. Rai was skinny, lithe almost like a girl. Lelouch noticed that Rai's lips were a light pink and looked very kissable. There was a heavy blush going across Rai's face, and a shy, uncertain look shining in the boy's eyes. It made Lelouch want to-

Rai shifted uncomfortably under Lelouch's intense stare.

Lelouch shook his head, trying to rid himself of the naughty thoughts that had come to mind.

"Um, hey do you have…any clothes I can borrow? I mean, because it'd be a bit suspicious if I were to walk around in a Black Knights uniform…" Rai asked quietly, looking away from Lelouch. Lelouch blinked a few times before registering what Rai had said.

"Oh yeah…" is all Lelouch could think of to say. He went to his dresser and pulled out a navy blue pair of slacks and a forest green long sleeved shirt. Lelouch also grabbed a dark red long sleeved shirt for himself. He tossed the pants and shirt he had picked out to Rai and both boys dressed. There was a long, awkward silence clinging to the room like a wet blanket. After Rai had finally put some clothes on he turned back to Lelouch, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"Uh…Why am I here?" Rai asked. Lelouch let out a tired sigh as he buttoned up the black buttons on his shirt.

"Because I was too exhausted to carry you all the way back to the boy's dorm last night." Lelouch told him. Rai frowned softly; it almost looked like a pout.

"That doesn't explain how I got in your bed." Rai said. His blush, which had disappeared moments before, came back with a vengeance. Before Lelouch could explain himself, C.C. opened the closet door, surprising both boys. She was wearing her usual straitjacket-like outfit.

"That would be because Lelouch wasn't thinking properly and thought Nunnally would somehow see you if you were sleeping on the couch." C.C. explained drily. Lelouch scowled at her, while Rai had to stifle a bout of snickers that bubbled up from inside him.

"Ah, but isn't Nunnally-." Rai tried to ask.

"Oh shut up." Lelouch snapped, looking back at Rai. He paused for a moment when a thought came to mind, reminding Lelouch that Rai was wearing _his_ clothes. Admittedly, Lelouch's clothes were a bit baggy on Rai, but it was kind of cute in Lelouch's opinion. Lelouch had to shake his head again before he got any ideas. "Go back to your dorm room and change into your own clothes. Then return my clothes, and make sure that no one sees you coming in or out of here." Lelouch ordered. Rai and C.C. shared an eye roll before Rai stood up.

"Yes sir." Rai muttered sarcastically as he walked past the prince. Lelouch shot him a dark look, but didn't say anything as Rai sneaked out of his room.

_~Present~_

Rai glanced up as Kallen walked into the Student Council Meeting Room. Kallen looked puzzled (and a bit disturbed) by what she saw. Milly heard Kallen come in and turned to the girl.

"Good Meowning!" Milly greeted brightly, pawing the air with one of her kitty-gloved hands. Her cat costume was mainly black, but with her front being fluffy and white. Rai rolled his eyes.

"Good…Morning, I guess." Kallen said hesitantly. The others paused in their torture of Lelouch momentarily and looked at Kallen. "What is all this?" Kallen asked. Rivalz, who was in a yellow and brown full body cat suit, was trying to keep Lelouch from shaking off the black cat ears, with two golden rings piercing the left ear, he was forced to wear.

"What do you mean? Did we tell you? It's our welcome party for Arthur." Rivalz explained, referring to the cat napping on the top platform of its scratching post.

"Sounds like fun." Kallen said. Rai wasn't sure if her tone was wistful or sarcastic.

"Well classes are postponed so we might as well have some fun, right?" Milly told Kallen. Shirley drew another whisker on Lelouch's face before speaking to Kallen.

"I set some stuff aside for you. Over here." Shirley said, pointing at a clothing rack full of cat costumes and a box full of kitty-paw gloves. Shirley herself was wearing a pink, somewhat skimpy kitty costume. "To make up for my getting all upset before." Shirley sounded a little guilty. "Take your pick!"

"W-what?" Kallen blanched. "For me?" she asked.

"She doesn't need a costume." Lelouch said. Rai and Kallen both looked at Lelouch.

"What?" Kallen asked him.

"You're already wearing a mask, right?" Lelouch teased. Rai couldn't help but start laughing at Lelouch, who glared in annoyance at the boy. "What's so funny?" Lelouch demanded.

"Y-you're trying to look all cocky and superior…while wearing that?!" Rai howled at Lelouch. The others laughed as well. Kallen just stare angrily at Lelouch.

"You're a riot." She told him sarcastically. "You should be on TV."

"What do you think, Miss TV-Star?" Rivalz asked Shirley.

"Oh, I thought she meant Lelouch." Suzaku said, not understanding that Rivalz was teasing Shirley. Rai smiled slightly at how clueless Suzaku could be sometimes. Shirley let out an annoyed breath.

"Would you quit joking about that?" she asked exasperatedly. "The whole thing's a huge pain in the butt!" she told her friends. "We've been hounded with questions day and night! Even in the bath! We haven't been able to leave school grounds in a week." Shirley complained.

"Not that I don't feel for you, but I don't see why we can't leave either." Rivalz said, looking to Milly. Everyone else looked to the Student President as well. Milly tilted her head down in thought.

"Hm, that's the price of friendship! The romance of the three kingdoms, it matters not that we were born apart. Upon this day we die as one." Milly said. Rai scoffed a bit at her dramatics.

"Is that your idea of a love quote?" Rivalz asked incredulously. Milly turned around and looked at him over her shoulder, pawing the air again.

"If I go down, then we all do." She told him, sounding mildly ominous.

"That's a little dark, right Suzaku?" Rivalz asked as he looked at Suzaku. He was surprised to see Suzaku crying.

"I'm glad," Suzaku said, tears welling up in his eyes. "That we can all be together again." He looked at the ground as he spoke. "You know, like this." Suzaku covered his face with one big blue paw. Even Lelouch looked surprised by Suzaku's actions. Just as Lelouch started to slowly show an honest, kind smile…Rivalz leap-frogged over the chair he was sitting and threw his arm over Suzaku's shoulder, trying to put Suzaku in a headlock.

"Aw, hey we're supposed to be unwinding here!" Rivalz told him. While Rivalz and Suzaku struggled, they both fell backwards onto the floor. Everyone else laughed at the two.

"That's what's so refreshing about Suzaku, though!" Shirley said, calling attention to herself.

"Yeah," Milly agreed. "Though once in a while you want him to just get a clue, you know?" Milly asked. Rai nodded at this.

"Oh, Sowy abowt 'hat." Suzaku apologized, but it came out muffled because Rivalz was pressing on both of Suzaku's cheeks.

"Aw, you lovely putty cat." Rivalz teased. Once again everyone laughed, including Nina who was working on her computer and wearing a childish tiger costume. Rai, while still chuckling, glanced at Kallen, who had a thoughtful look on her face as she stood there. Kallen smiled slightly at the others.

"Well don't just stand there, Kallen-san! Come on and pick a costume!" Rai spoke up giving her a shy smile. Kallen nodded and went to the rack.

They continued to goof off for nearly two hours. They laughed and rough-housed a bit and just had fun.

Finally, Rai stood up and made his way to the door. Milly ran up behind him and tackled the poor boy.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Milly asked in his ear, straddling his back. Rai tried to squirm his way out from beneath her, but Milly hanged on tight.

"I have an essay I need to do! It's due the day we go back to class and I just wanted to get it done!" Rai told her. Milly hummed for a moment, thinking it over and then finally released her captive.

"Alright, I suppose you can go this time." Milly said. Rai scramble into a standing position, and then handed Milly his cat ears and gloves. Rai sprinted out the door before Milly could change her mind. Completely forgetting that he had whiskers still drawn on his face.

* * *

Rai let out a huge sigh of relief the moment he locked his dorm room door behind him. He went across the room and plopped down on his bed. Okay, so he lied a little about the essay (he had already finished It.), but Rai was bored and since Milly nicked his book when Rai wasn't looking, he had nothing to do during the party. Granted parties had always bored Rai. He frowned at the ceiling at that thought.

Back home Scott would always dragged Rai to parties with him. They would always be crazy parties, with drunken girls (and a guy or two) hopping onto tables and doing some odd stripper routine in front of everyone. Of course when you're parents are filthy rich, it was kind of hard to throw a lame party when you could get whatever you wanted. At one party Rai remembered that the host's parents came home early from a vacation-and they didn't even seem fazed when they saw that the lawn was torn up and the house looked like a herd of angry buffalo had rampaged through it. At these parties Scott would get so drunk that someone (usually whoever Scott had flirted with the most at the party.) would have to take him home (Theirs, not Scott's.). Although Rai disapproved of it, nothing bad had happened so far…except for the time Scott had sex with a mob boss's daughter and had to leave the hemisphere for a few months until Rai and a few of Scott's other friends could calm the father down.

Rai never drank at any of the parties that he went to with Scott, which was probably a good thing…

One time a very pretty girl who's mother was some sort of politician, had offered Rai a cup full of water. Rai had refused because it smelled strange and he didn't trust it. Turns out that he was right on the mark-a week later he found out that the girl had been going to these parties, drugging young men and raping them, giving them HIV in the process. She was put in jail for it, but it still didn't reassure Rai. Hopefully while Rai stayed in the reality of Code Geass, he wouldn't be forced to go to any parties like that.

As a matter of fact, the students at Ashford Academy were actually far more behaved than the student's at the all boys private school Rai went to. So far Rai hadn't heard of anyone scaring the wits out of the headmaster of the school or any of the teachers quitting. Let's just say that Lucifer's All Boys Academy was an…interesting school.

Rai smirked at the understatement. He could recall the very first day he met Scott, it was in the fourth grade, second semester, when Rai began going to that school.

_~The Day Rai met Scott~_

Rai scowled at the building he was supposed to enter. It had taken him two hours just to get from the main gate to the building of which was the main office. Although it wasn't his fault, in order to get to the main office, Rai had to navigate through the green hedge maze that took up the whole school property.

_Who on Earth purposefully builds a school and then creates a giant maze all around it?! _Rai snarled silently.

The main office was a large, rectangular building that was made of rusty brown colored bricks, which were hidden under nearly two feet of ivy. The windows (of which there were few) all had what Rai was sure were iron bars over them. When Rai looked to the sky he noticed the steely gray clouds that covered overhead. In fact, Rai had seen the clouds when he first entered the school grounds. That thought made him frown darkly, because it had been perfectly sunny without a cloud in the sky when Rai's father had dropped him off a mile from the main gate. Rai decided to ignore the foreboding feeling that rose up from within him, believing that he was simply scaring himself.

He entered the building, not wanting to be any later than he already was. It was eerily quiet inside. The floor was black and white checkered tiles, and the walls were a light, dull gray. For some odd reason, it felt at least ten degrees cooler inside than it was outside. Rai could actually see his own breath.

He saw an elderly woman sitting at a big oak desk. She was giving Rai that most hate-filled glare that Rai had been given. It sent chills down his spine.

"Um, hello Ma'am-." Rai tried to greet her, but…

"You're Rai Bakura, Correct?" the old hag-I mean-woman snarled. Rai nodded in confirmation. "You were supposed to be here two hours ago." She told him rather rudely.

"I got lost." Rai told her, smiling as politely as he could at the moment. She pulled out a piece of paper, a student handbook/daily planner, a map, and a compass. The piece of paper was Rai's schedule.

"Then I suggest that you memorize this map quickly." The crusty old bitch (and I mean it) sneered at Rai. When Rai gave her a quizzical look, she elaborated. "New students are only allowed to have a map for the first three days of school, and then the map is confiscated." She explained. Rai was still confused.

"Why would-." Rai tried to ask.

"That would be, because the people running this place are sick, twisted, and demented individuals." A light, but definitely male sounding voice came from almost directly behind Rai, who could heard the mischievous grin even when he couldn't see it. Rai jumped and spun around.

That's when he saw Scott for the first time.

The boy had pitch black hair that was obviously dyed and hazel eyes that had an impish glint in them. He was taller than Rai by at least three inches and had a more muscular build than Rai. Scott (although Rai didn't know his name at the time.) was wearing the Lucifer's All Boys Academy uniform. His pants were black slacks with a blood red belt looped around. His shirt was white, but his jacket was black with all of the stitching blood red. He wore a blood red tie with a black pin in the shape of a pentagram holding his tie in place. His socks were also white and his shoes were black with blood red shoe laces.

"Hum, let me guess…The school colors are cotton candy pink and pastel yellow?" Rai couldn't help but ask. The boy gave Rai a wicked grin.

"My name's Scott Daemon. So you're the new meat eh?" Scott looked Rai up and down and then frowned. Before Rai could ask about it, Scott grabbed Rai's schedule from the front desk and read it. "How about this: I'll escort you to your second period…Since it took you so long just to get to the main office, by the time you find your class-it'll be next week." Rai would've argued that, but Scott was shoving all his things into Rai's arms and dragging Rai out into the maze before Rai could even really process what was happening.

_~Present~_

Somehow, after that, Rai and Scott became friends. They found out that they had a couple of classes together, and they would hang out after school. It wasn't long until Scott was explaining to Rai things about Wiccans. A few months later Scott told Rai that when Scott became Clan Leader, that he would make Rai his Royal Advisor. Rai had no clue as to what a Royal Advisor was supposed to do, but agreed to it since it sounded interesting.

Rai's thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Rai had set up the ring tones so that he would know by the sound/song who was calling.

"It's clear from your vacant expressions, the lights are not all on upstairs. But we're talking kings and successions-." the song 'Be Prepared' from the first Lion King movie was what Rai heard. That was the ringtone Rai had chosen for Lelouch.

With a groan of annoyance, Rai flipped open the phone.

"What do you want?" Rai asked impolitely.

"Hello to you too." Lelouch greeted drily. "We're raiding the warehouse tonight. I want you to be ready and outside of the main gate at the time I told you earlier." Lelouch ordered. Rai rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there." Rai yawned. He glanced at the clock on his phone and saw that he had a little while beforehand. Lelouch hanged up on Rai without even saying goodbye. Rai lightly tossed his phone onto the floor. He decided that it wouldn't hurt if he took a small nap.

* * *

Rai stood in the shadows, yawning quietly as the group waited for the signal to show. He was in his Akuma disguise. They were at some kind of warehouse district. Although the sun was almost set in the distance, it was dark in the place they were hiding, which was a gap in between two warehouses. The wall of the warehouse Rai was leaning up against was cold, and didn't warm up even though he had been standing there for a while. They were about to attack a warehouse where drug dealers where packaging a drug called 'Refrain'.

"What the hell is Zero thinking?" Someone complained. "After all his talk about bringing down Britannia, he's just got us running around helping the police!" Rai had forgotten the name of the man who spoke, but that didn't matter much to him.

"Still feels pretty good to have the will of the people behind us, though." Ohgi argued.

"Yeah, he's right; we're totally heroes on the net." Someone else said. Rai made a scoffing noise at that, along with the person who first spoke.

"Are we in the right? I don't know anymore." Kallen muttered softly. Ohgi turned to her, a hard look on his face.

"Kallen…" he said. That's when they got the signal from Zero. Everyone walked out into the open walk way of the warehouses.

"I can't believe he got in there." One of the Black Knights said.

"How many tricks does this guy have up his sleeve anyway?" The guy from before asked. Rai giggled, catching everyone's attention. He didn't say anything, simply grinned at the others and then skipped to where Zero was waiting for them.

When they got to the warehouse they were attacking, Rai could hear the faint sounds of people inside. He snickered as he pulled out his miniature machinegun. He twirled it around like a baton for a moment, and then started firing at the steel door before the order was given. The others followed his lead. They could hear people shouting and panicking inside the warehouse as bullets turned the door into something that resembled mangled Swiss cheese. A few of the Black Knights rushed past Rai and then kicked a giant section of the door inwards, leaving a gaping hole.

"The Black Knights have arrived!" Now Rai remembered the guy's name, it was Tamaki. They started firing at the drug dealers. The drug dealers pulled out guns and fired back at the Black Knights. Rai had to scramble to get out of the way of Kallen's Knightmare when it entered the warehouse through the hole in the door. The moment they saw the Knightmare, the drug dealers ran away.

"Tee, hee, haw! They scurry away like a bunch of rats!" Rai exclaimed, now running after Kallen. Another steel door tried to lower itself but Kallen charged through it. The room that they entered was dark, but the light coming from the other area of the warehouse flooded this part. Rai could see dozens of people in the room, all of them obviously high on something. Kallen's Knightmare froze. Rai saw a woman walk in front of Kallen's Knightmare, and when the woman stumbled, Kallen quickly caught her. The woman was babbling about her children or something. _Oh yeah, that's Kallen's mother. _Rai's fake-insane smile flickered. Then, from the side there was gun fire and the right arm of Kallen's Knightmare was shot off. Rai ready his machinegun and looked to see a gray Knightmare.

"The Night Police?!" Kallen's voice echoed out of her Knightmare. Kallen drove her Knightmare away from that position, and the gray Knightmare followed her. Rai heard footsteps behind him. Rai turned and saw Zero with four other Black Knights.

"Isn't that a police unit?" One of the Black Knights asked.

"They're in on this deal?" Ohgi questioned. He turned to Tamaki who was behind him. "Tamaki!" he yelled.

"Don't look at me, when I checked it out there weren't any cops involved!" Tamaki defended himself.

"Corrupted filth!" Zero hissed in anger. They could hear gunfire in the distance and the sound of Knightmares' wheels squealing against the pavement. Zero ran past Rai, as did the others. Rai followed them at a slightly slower pace. They turned a corner and saw the gray Knightmare firing at Kallen's fallen (it rhymes!)Knightmare, but the bullets had no effect. Kallen's mother was lying on the ground with Kallen's Knightmare shielding her. Kallen's mother sat up slowly. She looked up at Kallen's Knightmare and stood just as slowly, even though Kallen was yelling for her to run.

"I'm here for you." Kallen's mother spoke quietly, Rai could barely hear it. "I'm here for you Kallen." She said, her expression was dazed, her eyes unfocused. "I'm here, as I've always been." The woman's face turned loving. Rai could hear a pained gasp from Kallen.

"Then that's-then that's why you stayed in his house?!" Kallen asked "You stayed there for me? You fool!" Kallen cried. The gray Knightmare grabbed Kallen's Knight by the neck and brandished a giant dagger of sorts. Just as the dagger swung down, Kallen knocked it away from her. The gray Knightmare backed off momentarily, but then tried to stab Kallen's Knightmare again. Kallen's mother slowly back away from the Knightmares. Kallen blocked the arms holding the knife and tried to stop them from going down. Kallen's Knightmare shot out its grappling hooks, which attached themselves to a giant shelving unit across the area. Kallen's Knightmare dragged itself there along with the gray Knightmare and caused them to collide with the shelving unit. The gray unit was still, whoever was in it was either dead, or severely injured. Everyone ran to Kallen's Knightmare.

"Kallen!" shouted Ohgi, worry evident in his voice. Zero stayed where he was, and Rai walked up to stand next to him. Zero looked at Kallen's mother.

"You can finally become a Britannian now Kallen. Nobody will ever be able to hurt you now darling, and you're free to travel and use the phone any time you want." Kallen's mother told an imaginary version of Kallen.

"So this, is her mother?" Zero asked quietly. Rai didn't comment.

The moment Kallen got out of the damaged Knightmare, she ran to her mother's side.

"Looks as if she's got a true reason to fight now." Rai mumbled to himself. Zero looked at him, but Rai didn't explain what he meant.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you two Frieda for reviewing. I've been bitten by the writing bug recently, so that's all I've been doing for the past week. **

Rai was once again in his Akuma disguise. The Black Knights were inside of a warehouse, gawking over their new Knightmares. Everyone was lined up in front of the row of Knightmares; all except Rai was sat on a crate, a distance away from the others and completely cloaked in shadows. He wasn't very interested in what was happening, so he was sharpening his knife and cleaning his guns while the others acted like a bunch of over-excited children on Christmas morning.

"Wow it's amazing!" One of the Black Knights exclaimed. "These are Glasgows aren't they?" he asked.

"Gurans," Someone else corrected. "The Japanese modification."

"I've never seen these before!" Kallen said. The others began to chatter amongst themselves about the Knightmares. Rai glanced over at them, and then went back to putting his mini-machinegun back together. Kallen and some others stood in front of the Guren Mark II. Rai couldn't hear what was being said but he already knew from watching the show. All of them were facing the Knightmare, with their backs to Rai. Some new recruit needed help, so Tamaki and the others left out of Rai's sight. Kallen stayed near the Guren Mark II. Rai saw Zero walk up to Kallen from somewhere behind the Knightmare.

After they exchanged words for what seemed like a minute, Zero threw the key to the Guren Mark II to Kallen. They spoke some more, and then Ohgi walked out of the shadows from Kallen's right. Rai, since he had finished maintenance of his weapons as well as nothing better to do, wandered over to where the three of them were. He made sure to smile extra creepy when Ohgi glanced at him.

"-But news like this isn't something we should just ignore. What should we do?" Ohgi asked Zero.

"This weekend we're going hiking." Zero informed him.

"What?" Ohgi asked.

"To the Narita Mountains." Zero explained.

"Very well then." Ohgi said apprehensively. He left to get things prepared. Zero walked away from the others, and Rai followed him.

"Oh joy we get to hiking!" Rai said, sarcasm not remotely hidden in his fake-cheerful tone.

"It's not as if you have anything better to do this weekend." Zero pointed out. Rai pouted, because Zero was right.

"Not true." Rai denied. "I just recently bought a thing of Coconut Pudding and some Earl Grey tea. Also I just got those new books-." Rai was interrupted by Zero's gloved hand covering his mouth.

"In other words, you have nothing better to do this weekend." Zero said. Rai could hear the hidden order within Zero's words. Rai glared at Zero, which only made the latter chuckle.

* * *

"I don't see why I have to ride like this." Rai complained into his walkie-talkie. He was riding on the shoulder of Zero's Knightmare. Which was extremely uncomfortable and every bump sent a jarring pain up Rai's spine.

"Don't blame me for your inability to pilot a Knightmare." Zero's voice came out of the walkie-talkie muffled. Rai stayed silent for the rest of the ride, trying not the fall off.

They came to a stop outside of a cottage on the side of the mountain. Rai climbed off the Knightmare and walked with Zero to the door. He could hear two men inside. Zero opened the door without bothering to knock.

There were two men sitting at a table with some kind of board game on the table top. They both looked up when they heard the door open. Rai noticed they were wearing the uniforms of the JLF. The two men both jumped up out of their chairs at the sight of Zero. One pulled out a gun.

Zero took off his mask.

"Relax," he told them. "I only came to talk." Rai leaned against the door frame, standing behind Zero and keeping watch on the outside area. "I want you to ignore any unusual activity during your watch." Lelouch said. Rai knew that the prince was using Geass on the men at the moment.

"Sure, no problem." One of the men said. Rai could hear them moving around, going back to their board game.

"Come on, it's your turn." The other one said.

"What's the rush? We're just on regular duty, you know." The first one replied. Rai rolled his eyes. Lelouch gave the other Black Knights the signal. He then sat down at the desk, opening a book and reading it. Rai entered the cottage and sat on top of the desk, kicking his feet in boredom.

"Oh sure, you get to read." Rai complain. Lelouch ignored him.

"The day I've waited for has finally come, Cornelia." Lelouch thought out loud. Rai didn't comment, instead he looked out the window. What he saw made him grin.

"I was wondering when C.C. was going to show up." Rai said. Lelouch also looked at the window and saw C.C. He gave Rai a funny look, most likely wondering how Rai knew C.C. was going to be here. Lelouch left the cabin with Rai following him and snickering.

"C.C. what are you doing here?" Lelouch inquired as he strolled up to her. C.C. turned to the two boys.

"I said that I would protect you, did I?" C.C. retorted.

"Aren't you over doing it?" Lelouch asked.

"I've been wondering about something, Lelouch." C.C. said, turning her gaze back to the sky. "Why are you Lelouch?" she asked.

"I don't have time to discuss philosophy with you." Lelouch told her. Rai kept looking back and forth between the two as they spoke. It reminded him of a tennis match.

"You changed your family surname to Lamperouge but you've kept Lelouch, the name that was given to you at birth." C.C. observed. Rai rubbed his hands together as they started to go numb. He really wished that he had brought his gloves with him. It was cold this high on the mountain. "How sentimental, you can't let go of the past."

"Well 'C.C.' swings to the other extreme, doesn't it? It's not a human name." Lelouch argued. C.C. one again turned to look at Lelouch. The cold look on her face made Lelouch gasp a bit. C.C. didn't respond for a while.

"Lelouch." C.C. finally spoke. "Do you know why snow is white?" she asked. Lelouch didn't answer. "Snow is white because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be." She told him.

With that Lelouch went back to his Knightmare, Rai reluctantly tagging behind. Lelouch put his mask back on before climbing into the cockpit. They went up the mountain to where Kallen, Ohgi, and some others were located. Zero walked up to Ohgi who Rai gave an unnerving grin. Ohgi frowned at Rai like he tended to do. Rai was pretty sure that Ohgi didn't trust 'Akuma' at all. Ohgi then spoke to Zero.

"Are you really going through with this?" Ohgi asked.

"Our opponent is Cornelia, whose forces are among the best Britannia has to offer." Zero told him. Ohgi looked at the ground.

"Then why don't we cooperate with the Japan Liberation Front?" Ohgi muttered.

"What was that?" Zero asked. "Ohgi, don't you believe in me anymore?" Zero questioned. Ohgi returned his gaze to Zero.

"What do you mean?" Ohgi asked Zero. "I was the one who asked you to be our leader! Don't you remember?" Ohgi reminded him.

"Then there's only one answer to give." Zero retorted.

"Right." Ohgi agreed.

Then they saw aircraft flying overhead.

"It's begun." Zero said. Rai laughed.

"This should be fun!~" Rai nearly cackled. Ohgi moved in front of Zero, emitting a soft growl of frustration.

"What the hell?!" Rai heard Tamaki ask. Tamaki was downhill from Zero, Rai, and Ohgi, so he had to look up when he spoke to Zero. "You've got to be kidding Zero! Those troops coming in have this whole area totally surrounded! There's no way out!" Tamaki yelled.

"We've already been cut off." Zero told the others. "Our only chance of surviving now is to fight."

"What? We can't fight the Britannians!" a female Black Knight said.

"Let me get this straight-we're surrounded and you want us to fight them head on?!" Tamaki shouted, disbelieving.

"Fighting against Cornelia! Her forces are far stronger than any we've encountered!" a man standing near Tamaki said.

"Correct." Zero said. "It would be a miracle if we win this." Zero told them. Ohgi turned back to Zero.

"Zero, what are you saying?!" he asked.

"Even Messiahs need to perform miracles if they are to be acknowledged." Zero said. "Therefore we have to produce our own miracle, don't we?" Rai laughed at this, but Zero ignored him.

"Now look, pulling this off isn't going to be cheap! The price could be our lives!" Tamaki snarled. "I knew it was insane to make _you_ our leader! It should be me!" Tamaki pulled his gun off his shoulder. Zero pointed his gun at Tamaki before he could even aim. There was a pause, and the Zero flipped the gun in his hand and held it out with the handle upside-down and to Tamaki and the barrel pointing to him self.

"Our path of retreat has been cut off. If you think you can win without me then shot me!" Zero told everyone. "Someone." He paused. "Anyone." Everyone looked to Tamaki. Rai grinned at Tamaki, twirling his knife in between his fingers in his left hand. Tamaki gaped at Zero for a long time. Except for a few loud intakes of breath, no one said anything for a while. Then Zero spoke again.

"Since you've joined the Black Knights, you have only two choices. You may either live with me, or you may parish with me!" Zero told them all.

"Anybody got a problem with that?" Rai asked loudly, still grinning. No one responded.

"What's wrong? Challenge me and try to take me down." Zero taunted.

"Alright, fine, do what you want." Tamaki grumbled.

"We acknowledge you as our leader, Zero." Another Black Knight said.

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it." Zero said; his tone smug. He once again went back to his Knightmare and climbed in.

"Right, all preparations have been completed! Black Knights prepare to move out!" Zero ordered. There was some shouting from people, but everyone did as he ordered. "We, the Black Knights, are going to launch a surprise attack on the Britannians from the summit of the mountain." Zero said. "Per my instructions you'll charge on moss down to Point Three." Rai had no clue what that meant, but nodded and acted as if he did. "And the intent of this operation is to capture Cornelia, second princess of Britannia." Zero informed them. "Our breakthrough route will be opened by the Guren Mark II."

Rai glanced at the Knightmare Zero was referring to and saw Kallen had already gotten into it. Rai yawned loudly as she grasped one of the charges that were stuck in the ground.

"Output confirmed. Wave surger levels ready and holding." Kallen's voice echoed out of the Knightmare. "Activating gauntlet now!" After Kallen said that, a red glow radiated from the palm of the hand that was grasping the charge. Streaks of black crackled around the Knightmare like black electricity. Once the glowing stopped there was a tense pause. Everything was silent as a grave. Then Rai felt the ground move under his feet and heard an ominous rumbling coming from below. Part of the ground crumbled away and created a giant landslide.

"Akuma." Zero was speaking through Rai's walkie-talkie again. "This is going to be mainly a battle with Knightmares." Zero told him. "I don't care what you do, as long as you don't get in the way."

"Then why did I have to come in the first place." Rai grumbled darkly. Zero and four others took off down the slope. Everyone was moving out. "Bah, I'll just go find C.C. or something." Rai said to the open air. He walked lazily down from the summit, taking his time since he had nothing better to do. "I guess the other Black Knights might be curious if I wasn't here during the operation. But I don't even know how to pilot a stupid freaking Knightmare, so it's not like I'd be of any use." Rai complained. He noticed that he had been doing a lot of that today.

* * *

Rai could hear gunfire and explosions in the distance. Some of the sounds were somewhat close. Rai contemplated taking off his eye patch. Having his eyesight limited bothered him. Also, the fake scar on his neck felt itchy. Not to mention he was officially lost now.

He kept walking, enjoying the nature around him. It was cold outside, making him kind of wish that the Black Knights uniform came with a decent coat. The air smelled like mud (undoubtedly from the landslide that Zero had created.) and rotting vegetation. There was also a sharp, unpleasant smell that was from the explosions and gunfire. Rai was glad that his uniform came with sturdy boots, since hiking down the mountain wouldn't have been very pleasant if he were wearing something else, especially since the ground was a bit slippery from the snow.

Rai looked up at the sky for a moment. There were dark gray clouds overcastting the area. It looked like it might rain at some point. He continued his hike down the mountain.

It seemed like he was walking for at least an hour. "Great," he thought out loud. "Here I am, wandering around a mountain, which happens to be the base of a rebel force, trying to avoid the fighting and trying not to get shot at." Rai tried to stand on a fallen log, but ended up slipping and falling downhill a great distance-he didn't even have time to yell out.

He lied there for a minute when he finally stopped, groaning at his own stupidity. "Ouch, shit that hurt." Rai grunted as he sat up. He sighed and checked himself over to see if he had damaged anything. "Damn I'm such a klutz sometimes." Rai scolded himself. Rai stood up and check both his machinegun and his handgun to make sure they both were in working order. He then looked up the slope to see how far he had fallen.

Judging from the scuffs in the dirt and were he had gotten some air and snapped several tree branches, not to mention that cliff he fell off of…

_What was that, fifty meters or something?! Should I even be alive?! _Rai thought, blinking up at the mountain side. He shook his head, turned around, and continued walking. As he got to a clearing he smiled.

_Hey, maybe my luck is getting better- _"AAAAH!" Rai screamed (in a very manly way…okay not so much.) as the cockpit of a Knightmare crash landed only ten feet away from him. He looked away, shielding his eyes from the debris that was kicked up because of the cockpit's landing. "What the hell?!" Rai shouted when a small chunk of rock knocked him upside the head. When the dust settled, Rai gaped at what he saw.

Zero was standing on top of the cockpit. And the Lancelot right in front of him. "Aw, shit!" Rai cursed his naturally atrocious luck. _Hopefully I haven't been noticed yet…_ Rai silently prayed.

The Lancelot pointed its gun at Zero.

C.C. appeared out of nowhere and slowly walked until she was standing in between the Lancelot and Zero. She turned and began walking towards the Lancelot.

"Stop now!" she ordered. "Don't even think about hurting him!" She walked up to the leg of the Lancelot, and then touched it.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Zero asked. "You're challenging a Knightmare?!"

C.C. had a look of mild concentration on her face. As the wind picked up, Rai could see the symbol on her forehead.

"It's a problem in you die." She told Zero. "It'll be indirect contact, but it's worth a try." The symbol on her forehead glowed red for a second. After a moment Zero jumped down from on top of the cockpit and walked up to C.C.

"Hey, are you using Geass on him?" Zero asked.

"I'm just feeding him some shock images." C.C. told him. "I can't tell what he's seeing, though."

Rai jogged up to them.

"Well that's interesting." He said. Zero glanced at him.

"Where have you been?" Zero asked Rai. From his tone, Lelouch was most likely wondering why Rai looked like he fell down the mountain…which he did…

"Hiking." Rai replied.

"Anyway," C.C. interrupted. "You've got time to get away now."

"What about you?" Zero inquired.

"I can't move yet. You go first." She told him.

"Don't be foolish. I can't keep owing you favors." He put his hand on her shoulder. Both of them gasped.

"No, not now!" C.C. yelled. Then she gasped again, sounding like she was in pain. She writhed like she was in pain as well. "St-stop it! Stay. Out of. My mind!" she gasped.

_Oh, crap. _Rai thought. _This isn't good._

"Stop it! Why now?" Tears began welling up in C.C.'s eyes. Her fingers on the Knightmare tensed. "You're…unveiling me." Rai wondered if maybe he should try to help somehow.

Out of nowhere, the Lancelot started firing at random. Like there was some enemy only the pilot could see.

"What's happening to him?!" Zero asked.

"Idiot! Get away now!" C.C. shouted. A small, sharp piece of rock embedded itself in her chest.

"C.C!" Zero yelled.

"Hurry!" she gasped. C.C. fell backwards and Zero caught her.

"Zero, we've got to get out of here!" Rai shouted. He shoved Zero, who then picked C.C. up bridal style and began running.

* * *

Rai and Zero kept running until they found a cave. The sun was setting outside. Rai wished he was back at his dorm room right now instead of hiding a dark cave. Water was dripping from the ceiling and there was a lake inside the cave. Rai dipped his hand into the water. It was freezing cold.

Lelouch put C.C. down and undressed her. "H-hey! What are you doing?!" Rai asked, blushing and looking away.

"Don't be stupid, I'm checking her injuries." Lelouch told him. "…This girl, she can't be human." Lelouch said after a minute or two. Rai looked back at Lelouch, who was no longer wearing his mask. His cloak was covering C.C. like a blanket. "She recovers from wounds in ways that are beyond normal. She was shot in the head in Shinjuku, and yet…" Rai shrugged.

"Maybe she's immortal." Rai said, already knowing that she was. Lelouch must not have heard him, because he continued as if Rai wasn't there.

"Clovis confined her for his private experiments. So she's not connected with Britannia." He touched the symbol on her forehead with a gloved hand. "Her vital signs are at human levels. I better analyze a blood sample later and photograph the wounds." Lelouch said. Rai frowned for a moment.

"You really don't trust anyone, do you?" Rai said. Lelouch glanced at Rai in annoyance. Then they both heard C.C. stirring. She said something, and Lelouch leaned closer to hear her better. Rai was too far away to hear anything C.C. might have said.

Lelouch suddenly made a surprised noise.

"You finally called me, by my real name." C.C. said in her sleep. Lelouch backed away from her and sat down. Rai continued to stand leaning against a stalagmite (Or stalactite, Rai couldn't remember which one was which.). Everyone was quiet for a while.

Finally C.C. woke up. Lelouch stood up and tossed a white handkerchief covered in blood into the lake.

"I removed the shrapnel and cleaned the wound." He told her. C.C. sat up.

"That wasn't necessary." She told Lelouch.

"Apparently not." Lelouch scoffed.

"So there was no point in protecting me at all. Your pride always gets in the way at the most ridiculous moments." C.C. told him. Rai laughed a bit at that, earning himself a glare from Lelouch. Lelouch faced C.C.

"But then I learned something from it, ****." Lelouch said. C.C. gasped and looked up at him in surprise. "That's your name, isn't it?" Lelouch asked smugly. C.C. narrowed her eyes at him as she glared.

"You have a bad habit of eavesdropping." She told him.

"Well it's a good name. It's a lot more human than C.C." Lelouch retorted.

"That's a joke." C.C. scoffed. "As if I want to be more _human_." She sneered at the thought. Her tone changed to a sad one suddenly "After all I've-I…" she let the sentence drop off for a second. "I've forgotten everything. Every single thing. So what's the use of it?" C.C. actually sounded as if she might cry. "A name? But why?" she asked no one in particular. There was silence. Then Lelouch spoke.

"It's a good time to say this." He paused. "Yes, you saved me today." He admitted. "You did that before and then gave me Geass. That's why…I'll only say this once…" Lelouch turned to face the water, with his back to C.C. and Rai. "Thank you." Rai rolled his eyes, but C.C. seemed genuinely happy.

"No one's…ever thanked me before." She said, hugging Lelouch's cloak tighter. "Well then, can you show your appreciation?" she asked. Lelouch once again turned his head and looked at her quizzically. "Say it again, like you did before." Lelouch frowned for a second before he figured out what she meant.

"Oh, you mean the name." he said.

"Just this once. With tenderness, like you treasured in your heart." C.C. told him. Lelouch turned his whole body to face her.

"Very well then." He said, closing his eyes. "****." He said. "How was that?" he asked, opening his eyes again.

"It was bad." C.C. told him. Rai snickered.

"Bad? That was terrible!" Rai corrected. Once again Lelouch glared at him.

"It was completely bad." C.C. agreed. "It wasn't tender. There was no honesty or sympathy in it. You spoke it oddly, and worse of all it was cold." C.C. criticized.

"You're a picky girl." Lelouch smirked.

"Exactly, that's why I go by the name C.C." C.C. smiled as she said this. Rai laughed at this.

Lelouch pulled out his phone and called Kallen. After that, C.C. dressed herself, and Lelouch put his mask and cloak back on.

It didn't take Kallen very long to reach the cave.

"Looks like our ride's here." Zero said. They could hear Kallen's footsteps as she ran into the cave.

"Zero, are you okay?" Kallen asked. "The others went on ahead and-." That's when Kallen say C.C. "Who's that?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh, you needn't worry. She's a very important friend." Zero told Kallen. C.C. looked at Zero in surprise when he said that. "C.C. I don't know why snow is white. But I still think snow is beautiful." Zero said, turning and looking at her. "I don't hate it." Rai rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"I see." C.C. said. Kallen frowned at them, unsure about what was going on.

"Hey, can we get out of here? I'm not a bat, so a cave's not really homey to me." Rai complained. It only earned him a glare from the each of the others.


	7. Chapter 7

Once again Rai was sitting on the aquamarine 'J' shaped couch inside the Black Knights mobile base. He was sitting on Zero's right, with Kallen and Tamaki both on Zero's left. Ohgi was standing halfway across the room, directly in front of Zero. There were a few other Black Knights sitting at the other couch on the opposite side of the room.

Rai's feet were propped up on the coffee table in front of him. He kept grinning at Ohgi, knowing how badly it bothered the man. After Ohgi gave Rai a disapproving frown, he spoke to Zero.

"Kyoto praised us for using the Guren Mark II so well. I thought that was encouraging." Ohgi said.

"But there was the White Armor." Kallen argued. She was reading a book, which made Rai very jealous at the moment. Ever since Lelouch force Rai to join him, Rai barely had time to read anymore.

"Don't sweat it. It was a tie, right? A tie!" Tamaki said way too loudly. He then laughed.

Just to bug him Rai laughed as well. That led to an awkward silence for a moment. Nobody seemed to like 'Akuma' very much, and the rest of the Black Knights seemed to prefer to have as little to do with him as possible. Rai thought it was funnier than shit.

"Here" Ohgi walked up to Zero and handed him a letter.

"Hm? What's this?" Zero asked, simply looking at the paper in Ohgi's outstretched hand.

"A love letter." Ohgi told him just as Zero finally grabbed the letter.

"Oh," Zero looked up at Ohgi. "From you?" Zero asked jokingly. Tamaki laughed loudly at this, while Rai snickered.

"And they say you have no sense of humor!" Tamaki said in between bouts of laughter.

"You laugh too much." Kallen told him, looking up from her book to give Tamaki an annoyed look.

"You know what they say 'You can't spell slaughter without laugher'!" Rai suddenly told everyone. There was another uncomfortable silence.

"Anyway," Ohgi said. "It's an official letter from Kyoto. They urgently request a meeting."

"Is this really such a big deal?" Zero asked. He sounded somewhat annoyed about it.

"A big deal? It's Kyoto!" Kallen put her book down as she gave Zero a wide-eyed look.

"If they accept us it means funding and support. It could solve our financial crisis." Ohgi told Zero.

"Crisis?" Zero asked.

"Whoops." Rai snickered at the look on Ohgi's face when he realized what he just said.

"There shouldn't be any problem if you're following the budget I laid out." Zero was not pleased. Ohgi looked sideways at Tamaki with a guilty expression.

"Hey!" Tamaki shouted. "It's not my fault! We're turning into a big organization now! That means new expenses you know!" Tamaki defended him self. Rai noticed that Kallen had gone back to reading her book, but had a sarcastic 'Yeah right' look on her face.

"Like fancy dinners for the new recruits so you can show off?" Kallen questioned.

"Hey you!" Tamaki growled, leaning closer to Kallen as he glared.

"I know where you've been taking them, Big Spender." Kallen accused. Tamaki went from glaring to looking shocked.

"Eh?! You know about it?!" he shouted. Zero sighed and Rai just howled with laughter.

"We'll put Ohgi in charge of the Treasury for now." Zero decided.

"Hold it right there!" Tamaki said, standing up and looming over Zero. "I'm the one that's in charge of the cash! That's my job!" Tamaki argued. Rai chose this time to pull out his knife and start cleaning under his finger nails with it. Tamaki backed away a couple of steps. Zero completely ignored Rai…again…

"If you want me to trust you, then show me some results." Zero told Tamaki.

"Did you just say 'trust'? A guy who hides his face from his own partners?!" Tamaki countered. "How about it Zero? Huh?!"

"Hold on, that's a-." Ohgi tried to say something, but Kallen interrupted him. Kallen stood up and glared at Tamaki.

"Zero's not the problem here, who cares who he is! He had the skill to outwit Cornelia, didn't he?! That's why he's the leader of the Black Knights!" she pointed out. "Do you really need to know more?" Kallen asked. Tamaki looked away and make an angry, disgusted noise.

After that Zero stood up and went to his private office on the second floor of the base, Rai followed him.

_I feel like a damn dog._ Rai complained to himself. Zero took off his mask the moment that the door was locked behind them. He sat at his desk, working away on his laptop while Rai sat on the desk and stared off into space. They stayed like that for a while; the only sound was Lelouch's fingers taping on the keys.

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Lelouch asked, picking up his mask and about to put it back on.

"It's me," Kallen voice came from the other side of the door. "Um, I'm sorry if I was out of line when I spoke up back there." Kallen apologized. Lelouch hadn't put his mask on yet.

"Kallen, tell me, do you want to know my identity as well?" he asked.

There was a long pause.

"No, sorry to bother you." Kallen said. Lelouch and Rai heard Kallen's footsteps fade away as she left. Rai yawned.

"Hey, Zero, are you done yet?" Rai asked. "Cause I'd like to go and get at least _some _sleep tonight." Lelouch closed him laptop and stood up.

"I suppose we should be heading back." Lelouch said as he put his mask back on. Rai hopped off the desk and followed Lelouch out of the room.

_I'm starting to wonder…Am I going to keep following this guy all the way to hell? _Rai asked himself.

* * *

_Just my luck, _Rai grumbled silently. It was insanely foggy and he could barely see a thing. All of the buildings around them were crumbling and in ruin. He stood in his 'Akuma' disguise (_It seems like I'm in that disguise more than I am not. _Rai thought bitterly.) on Zero's left. _I don't want to meet the Kyoto! Stupid Lelouch, dragging me along like this, _Rai would have glared at Zero, but didn't in case anyone was watching. _Damn bastard prince_.

A car rolled up, and the driver's side window lowered to reveal a man.

"Please bring your commanding staff along as per my master's instruction, understood?" the man told Zero.

"They're patrolling the perimeter in case of any unpleasant contingences. I'll call them soon." Zero said. "However, before I do…" Part of Zero's mask slid to reveal his left eye.

Rai grinned wickedly.

* * *

Rai made sure to sit uncomfortably close to Ohgi as they rode in the car. Rai, Ohgi, and Tamaki were sitting on one seat of the car, while Zero and Kallen sat on the seat across from them.

Ohgi looked very bothered by Rai's close proximity, and would've probably scooted away if Tamaki wasn't on the other side of him.

Normally Rai wouldn't do things like this to annoy people, but since he was supposed to be a mentally unstable blood thirsty manic anyway, he decided it'd be fun to mess with the one person who seemed to like him the least.

"This is taking too long, when do we get there?" Tamaki complained, actually talking quietly for once.

"Could you chill out? You're embarrassing." Kallen told him, although she looked as if she was also getting impatient.

Suddenly they felt car jerk to a stop. Then it felt like the car was being moved somehow, like they were in an elevator.

"What the hell?" Tamaki asked in surprise.

"We're going up?" Kallen asked. The car then stopped moving again and they heard a large mechanical door open. The car moved forward a bit, and then came to a stop. Immediately afterward, the car door next to Kallen was opened.

"Sorry for the inconvenience." A man apologized. "The master is waiting for you." He opened the door next to Tamaki as well.

They all exited the car, and discovered that they were in a huge room with giant floor to ceiling windows along one wall. Stepping closer to the windows, they discovered where they were.

"This is, the Fuji Mines?!" Ohgi asked, shocked. He, Kallen, and Tamaki crowded around a window.

"That is not possible!" Tamaki said. "There's no way we could be here!"

"It has to be Mount Fuji. There's only one mountain like this!" Kallen argued. Zero and Rai stood farther from the window than the others.

"That means the Sakuradite is right below us? The damned treasure caused the whole war!" Tamaki growled. "You know what they do to intruders here? Execute them!"

"Their power reaches all the way out to here?" Ohgi asked. "The Kyoto group is amazing."

"It's repulsive." A deep voice of an elderly man was heard from behind the group. They looked and saw a man sitting, hiding behind a curtain. "Mount Fuji…a sacred mountain once known for its clear water and quiet beauty. Now it's bent to the Empire's will. A place of hideous violation, a reflection of what Japan has become. It pains me so." The man growled. Rai and the others looked at the man. "I apologize for not showing my face, but Zero, your face is hidden as well. Unfortunately, I cannot allow this. To trust you, I must know who you are. Therefore," The man pointed at Zero with his wooden staff-like cane. "You will show me your face!"

Knightmares rolled out of the shadows, their weapons trained on Zero and the others. Rai tensed, ready to fight.

"Please wait!" Kallen came up from behind Zero and then stood in front of him protectively. "Zero has given us power and victory! That should-!"

"Silence!" The old man snapped. "Now, which of you is Ohgi?"

"That's me." Ohgi said, looking confused.

"You will remove Zero's mask." The old man told him. Ohgi gasped slightly. Reluctantly he walked towards Zero.

"Ohgi!" Kallen shouted. Zero turned and faced Ohgi.

"I'm sorry Zero, but…We need a reason to put our faith in you too." Ohgi moved closer. "So help us," Ohgi lifted his hands to Zero's mask. "To put our trust in you." Ohgi finished. He lifted the mask.

Rai couldn't help but bust up laughing at the shocked look on everyone's faces.

C.C. stared blankly at them.

"A woman?!" Tamaki yelled. "It can't be!"

"It's not!" Kallen told them. C.C. looked at her, as did Rai who grinned evilly. "This isn't Zero, I saw her before! She was with Zero after Narita!" Kallen explained to the others.

"You there, girl, is this true?" the old man asked C.C.

"It is," C.C. said.

"So, you're not Japanese?" the man asked. C.C. looked at the old man.

"Correct, Clan Chief of Kyoto: Taizo Kirihara." C.C. said. The men who stood on either side on the old man let out gasps.

"Anyone who can identify him, must die!" the one of the left said, reaching into his jacket for a gun.

"Especially one who is not Japanese!" shouted the other, pointing at C.C.

"Hey, hold on!" Tamaki held is hands up. "I'm not part of this!" Rai laughed at him. Then, one of the Knightmares suddenly attacked the other Knightmares and knelt before the old man and his cronies with its gun aimed at them.

"You're soft and you're methods of thinking are outdated." Rai could hear Lelouch's voice coming out of the Knightmare. The cockpit opened and revealed the real Zero. "That is why-you'll never win!"

"Zero?" Kallen asked. Ohgi and Tamaki were also surprised. C.C just looked bored.

"When did you…?" One of the guards asked. He pointed his gun at Zero.

"Hold on, he could fire at us with that remote!" the other warned. "Everyone stay back! Don't make a move!"

Zero leaped from the Knightmare.

"Taizo Kirihara," Zero said. "Founder of Kirihara Industries, which have a monopoly on Sakuradite Mining." Zero walked towards the man.

Ignoring the guns, Rai jogged up to Zero and followed behind him as he got closer to the old man. "Formally a key backer of the Kururugi Régime, however, when Japan fell, you dodged the tribunals by collaborating with the colonial rulers. Commonly known as Kirihara the Traitor, in reality you're head of one of the Six Housed of Kyoto-who support resistance groups throughout Japan. A double agent, how cliché."

"Show some respect you swine!" one of Kirihara's men yelled.

"Stop!" Kirihara shouted.

"It's as you guessed, though." Zero continued. "I. Am not Japanese!"

Kallen gasped. Ohgi looked shocked, as did Tamaki. Rai however, gave Kirihara's men the most unnerving smile possible. They seemed more wary of him than Zero because of it.

"Is he serious?!" Tamaki almost whispered. "No wonder he never showed his face."

"If you are not Japanese, then why do you fight for Japan?" Kirihara demanded. "What is it you want?"

"The destruction of Britannia." Zero replied.

"And so do you believe that this is possible? That you can do it?" Kirihara asked.

"I can! Because I must. I have reasons which compel me inexorably." Zero told him. Then he grabbed his mask, pulling it off as he spoke again. "I'm glad that I'm dealing with you." Kirihara gasped at what he saw.

"You…" he whispered.

"It's been a long time, Lord Kirihara." Lelouch greeted.

"Is it really you?" Kirihara wondered.

"Nope, it's the tooth fairy!" Rai told him. That simply earned Rai an annoyed look from both Kirihara and Lelouch.

"It's eight years since my family received you as a hostage." Kirihara said.

"Yes, and I appreciate you taking care of me then." Lelouch said.

"If I hadn't come tonight were you planning on taking a messenger as hostage?" Kirihara asked Lelouch.

"Not at all, I came to ask for your help, that's all I'm seeking from you." Lelouch told him.

"So, the flower planted eight years ago has finally bloomed." Kirihara said thoughtfully. Then he broke into a loud fit of laughter. It echoed throughout the room, sounding rather eerie. "Ohgi!"

"Yes?" Ohgi asked uncertainly.

"This man is a true mortal enemy of Britannia. His face must remain hidden for vital reasons. I urge you to follow Zero, and I guarantee that if you do that we will assist you generously with intelligence and strategic support." Kirihara said.

Rai glanced back at the other Black Knights and snickered at the dumbfounded look on Tamaki's face.

"We thank you." Ohgi said.

"I'm grateful, Lord Kirihara." Lelouch said, turning away from the man. Rai bowed politely to Kirihara and waved at his men while grinning like a maniac. He then followed Lelouch.

"Are you embarking on the path of blood?" Kirihara asked.

"Indeed. For that is my destiny." Lelouch told him. He then put his mask back on.

"Is there any other possible path? I doubt it." Rai said in a bored tone. Kirihara laughed at that.

* * *

Rai felt numb. He stood with Suzaku, Rivalz, Lelouch, Nina, Milly, and Kallen. Everyone was wearing their school uniforms. Although Rai already knew that this was going to happen, it didn't make anything any easier.

This was the first funeral he had ever been to, after all.

Shirley and her mother stood at the foot of her father's grave. The casket hadn't been buried yet, but it was fully lowered into the ground.

Rai couldn't help but feel horrible guilt. It was the landslide the Black Knights had created at Narita that had killed Shirley's father. Rai knew all along what would happen, but he didn't stop it. He didn't warn Lelouch about the danger or anything-too worried about what Lelouch might do if he knew Rai's secret. How Rai already knew everything that was going to happen.

Right now Rai felt disgusted with him self. He felt like a filthy coward.

It's easy to not interfere when you don't know the people involved. But during the time Rai had been on the Student Counsel, he had gotten to know all of the counsel members (Granted he still had a great dislike for Nina.). Shirley had even helped him with his math homework on several occasions. Rai had gotten attached to them, and even considered them his friends.

Rai clenched his jaw shut tightly, almost to the point where he thought he might break his teeth.

Then the men started burying Shirley's father.

"No, stop!" Shirley's mother cried. "Don't bury him again! Please, he's suffered enough!" She fell on to her knees. "Oh god! Don't leave me!" Shirley knelt down beside her mother, grabbing her shoulders and trying to console her.

"Mother he's gone already." Shirley told her mother. "Please Mom."

It was silent for a long time, except for the sobbing of Shirley's mother. After a while, once Shirley's father was completely buried, some family members coaxed Shirley's mother away from the grave and took her away. Shirley had been kneeling in front of the grave, a bouquet of white flowers on the middle of the grave.

Shirley stood up and walked towards her classmates.

"Shirley. I'm so sorry that this happened." Kallen said quietly.

"Oh stop, what do you have to apologize for?" Shirley said. Kallen looked even more upset by this.

"We feel awful!" Rivalz told Shirley. Shirley gave him a surprised look. "It's just that…When we were all watching the hotel-jacking on TV, I thought the Black Knights were-you know-heroes." Rai felt like there was a knife in his gut when Rivalz spoke. "I mean, the news was handling it all wrong. Anyway I was posting online about what I thought what happened in Narita was kind of cool and I-." Rivalz hesitated. "Forgive me." He bowed to Shirley.

"Come on, don't be silly." Shirley told him as she walked up to him. "That has absolutely nothing to do with this at all. I mean even I was saying Narita was-."

"Shirley, stop." Milly said, grasping Shirley's shoulder. "Seriously I'm starting to worry about you here. Have you cried yet? If you simply hold it in it's only going to be harder for you later on." Milly told her.

"You don't have to worry." Shirley said, looking at the ground. Her voice was kind of shaky. "Really, I'm fine." She paused. "I've cried a lot." There was silence for a second, which Suzaku broke.

"Cowards." He hissed darkly. "Zero and his people. Their methods are just cowardly. He doesn't even get his hands dirty! He stirs people into a frenzy, tips the world into chaos and then sits back and congratulates himself." Suzaku spat. "It's not going to change a thing. Anything gained through his kind of tactics is just meaningless." If ever there was a time when Rai wanted to crawl into hole and die, this was it.

"Well anyway," Milly said. "I think it's time we headed back everyone!" she told them. "Shirley, we'll be waiting for you, back in the old student counsel room. Same as ever." Milly told Shirley. Shirley nodded hesitantly. Milly turned to the rest of them. "Come on guys, let's go." Everyone started leaving.

"Hey uh, Lelouch-?!" Before Rivalz could say or ask whatever he was about to, Milly grabbed him by the arm and put her other arm around his shoulders, herding him away. "What? What did I do?" Rivalz wanted to know.

Rai walked along side Suzaku, who had a hard look on his face.

Rai wondered if there would be a time when he would hate himself more than he did right now.

"Everything's…spiraling downward it seems." Rai muttered to himself. Suzaku blinked out of his angry stupor. He seemed to be thinking about something for a moment before he spoke.

"Um, Rai?" Suzaku called for Rai's attention. Rai looked at him. "Since I don't have for the rest of the day, I was wondering if…" Suzaku hesitated. "If you would like to go on another walk with me?" Suzaku asked. Rai glanced at Milly and the others.

"But I thought we were going to the counsel-." Rai wasn't sure.

"Oh, you two go ahead, I'm sure Shirley won't mind." Milly said, waving her hands in a shooing motion. Rai didn't like the creepy smile Milly was now wearing.

"Okay then." Rai said, frowning at Milly and edging away from the girl slowly. Suzaku smiled kindly at Rai, and then the two of them went a separate way from the others.

For a long time they walked in silence, neither of them knowing what to say. Rai was the one who broke the silence.

"Suzaku, as a soldier…" Rai paused, unsure of how to go on with what he was saying. Suzaku looked at Rai curiously. "Do you ever…have to follow orders that you don't agree with?" Rai asked. Suzaku thought for a moment before answering.

"Yes, sometimes." He admitted. "But as a soldier, I have to follow the orders my superiors give me no matter what, because that's how things are done in the military." He explained. Rai hesitated before speaking, refusing to look Suzaku in the eye.

"So, if your superiors told you to do something that you felt-that you knew was wrong…you'd do it?" Rai asked. Suzaku frowned at the question. He stopped walking and lightly grabbed Rai's shoulders, turning the shorter boy to face him. Rai looked at the ground, the trees-anything but Suzaku.

"Rai, what's wrong?" Suzaku asked. Rai almost flinched at the worry in Suzaku's voice.

"It's nothing…" Rai whispered. Suzaku didn't let go of him.

"Rai…" Suzaku took one hand off Rai's shoulder and then used it to lift Rai's chin-making Rai look at him. "We're friends right?" Rai mumbled a confirmative. "Then tell me what's wrong." Suzaku ordered. Rai took a deep breath.

"It's just that. I keep wondering about the people who make up the Black Knights. I keep wondering if maybe one or some of them believe that what they're doing-how their doing it is wrong. I'm pretty sure if a person joins the Black Knights it's not like they can just quit." Rai said looking deep into Suzaku's green eyes and trying to break down and tell him the truth. "I keep thinking that…I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for anyone who's in the Black Knights." Rai told him, not saying what he was really thinking. _I'm sorry that I'm working for Zero. I'm sorry that I'm a part of it all. I'm sorry that I just stood there and did nothing when I could've. I'm so very, very sorry. _

Then, out of the blue, Suzaku pulled Rai into a hug. Suzaku's arms wrapped around Rai, and felt so protective and comforting. Rai froze for a moment, and then gripped the front of Suzaku's school uniform with both hands like it was a life-line. Rai buried his face in Suzaku's chest as Suzaku held him even tighter.

"It's alright Rai." Suzaku whispered softly to him. "You don't have to feel sorry for those people. They were the ones who chose to join Zero, it's their fault if they don't have the courage to stand up to him and put their foot down."

…Although Rai knew that Suzaku was only trying to comfort him…It was _not_ working.

"…Thanks, Suzaku." Rai whispered. They stood like that for a minute, and stepped away from each other.

The two of them continued walking. It was cold outside and the sky was threatening to pour down rain at any moment. "Suzaku? What's it like working in the military? What do you do?" Rai asked.

"It's…hard work. It's not like any other job where you can slack off every now and then. But it's worth it. I feel like I'm protecting something I truly care about." Suzaku told Rai. "I work as actually a Knightmare pilot. Usually even Honorary Britannians don't get to pilot Knightmares, but they made an exception for me. The Knightmare I use is called the Lancelot." Rai paused for a moment, and then snickered. "Eh? What's so funny?" Suzaku asked.

"Nothing, it's just that you…really do sound like some kind of knight." Rai said. Suzaku blinked at him, clueless. "You stand for Truth and Justice, and you're completely loyal to your country. I wouldn't be surprised if you started wearing a white suit of armor, riding a horse, and saving random damsels in distress from fire breathing dragons!" Rai teased. Suzaku rolled his eyes and shoved Rai lightly.

"I don't see what's so wrong with it." Suzaku muttered, smiling. "Especially the saving damsels part."

Rai paused for a moment before saying something.

"Well, I hope that one day you find your 'princess'." Rai said. Suzaku looked thoughtful at this.

"I think I already have." Suzaku murmured, seemingly forgetting for a moment that Rai was there. Rai smiled slightly at this.

"What's her name?" Rai asked. Suzaku suddenly blushed red as a tomato.

"N-no one never mind-forget what I just said!" Suzaku stuttered. Rai grinned. Not an 'Akuma' grin, but a grin that fitted Rai.

"She's a lucky girl." Rai told Suzaku. Suzaku only blushed redder at this.


	8. Chapter 8

Rai would've scowled at the dirty warehouse he was standing in, but since 'Akuma' wouldn't do that; Rai couldn't.

"Wait a second Zero, I realize this is a request for Kyoto-I think we can definitely handle it. And I'm pretty sure that the Japan Liberation Front would rather join with us than flee to foreign soil and all but-." Rai wasn't sure as to what Ohgi was getting at, but he really didn't care at the moment.

Rai was standing next to Zero on a pile of junk. Zero was sitting down. Rai began to wonder if Lelouch had some kind of insecurity about his height or something because he always seemed to want to be somewhere that was above everyone else.

"You're the one who brought us this information, Diethard wasn't it?" Zero asked. Rai allowed himself to snicker at the man's name…as well as his ridiculous hair style that Rai believed resembled a cross between Deidara from Naruto…and a quail.

"That's right. It is an honor that you'd meet me like this, Zero." Diethard (the Retard-Rai couldn't help but silently add.) said.

"So Princess Cornelia is going to deploy the Royal Marines on General Katase of the Japan Liberation Front. Is that correct?" Zero summarized.

"Yes, the network is already poised to broadcast a special report on it." Diethard told Zero.

"Lieutenant Colonel Todo will never make it to Katase in time, which means the Japan Liberation Front has no military strength right now. Their only chance of escape is the liquid Sakuradite they're carrying."

"Which is why we should help General Katase escape instead of going after Cornelia!" Ohgi argued.

"Ohgi!" Zero spoke in a commanding tone. "Who are we?"

"W-we're the Black Knights, Zero." Ohgi said, sounding defeated.

"Then we have but one task, we will destroy Cornelia's troops. And in doing so, rescue the remnants of the JLF. Tonight," Zero stood up. "We regain what was lost to us at Narita!"

"What are our chances?" Ohgi asked.

"Need you ask?" Zero countered. Ohgi smiled.

"Understood." Ohgi said.

"Begin preparations. You all have your orders to carry out." Zero turned away.

"Ah, Zero!" Kallen called out. Zero turned his head to look at her.

"I have something to attend to, whatever it is save it for later." Zero told Kallen. He walked away. Rai made sure to wave goodbye and lick his lips in a creepy fashion to Diethard before following Zero.

* * *

Rai sat once again on the shoulder of Zero's Knightmare. He was staring out in to nothing, smiling and humming tunelessly.

_What should I do? Should I continue to do as Lelouch says? I could always tell him to F.O.A.D. (Fuck Off And Die) and just try to never be alone in the same room as him ever again…Oh who am I kidding? I'm no where near as intelligent as him, Lelouch would easily corner me and then use Geass on me. Damn it all, what am I to do?_

Rai hadn't been paying attention to anything around him, so when the Zero set off the bomb he had put under the JLF's ship-it scared the shit out of Rai.

"Just what you'd expect of the JLF, choosing to take the Britannains out with them." Rai heard Zero's voice from his walkie-talkie as Rai held onto the Knightmare as tightly as he could.

_Bullshit, you planted a bomb on the bottom of the ship while no one was looking!_ Rai grumbled silently.

"Suicide?" Rai now heard Ohgi's voice. Rai didn't hear what else Ohgi said because he was too busy trying not to fall off Zero's Knightmare while the ship rocked constantly.

"We're going to rush Cornelia's position head on!" Zero said. Rai let out a yelp as the ship suddenly did a ninety degree turn that nearly threw him off. "Forget about everything else! All that matters is achieving our goal! If you want to avenge the JLF, then capture Cornelia, and show them our strength and determination!"

_Yeah, but why do _I_ have to sit on your freaking Knightmare?! Stupid Lelouch, you're going to be the death of me!!_ Rai complained to himself, since it wasn't like anyone would listen to him.

When the ship opened up, Rai held his machinegun in one hand, and held onto Zero Knightmare for dear life with the other. "Knock their Knightmares into the sea before their pilots can mount! Guren Mark II, you're with me!" Zero shouted. The Knightmare lurched forward and Rai felt his palms sweat, making his grip slippery.

Zero began firing at one side, while Kallen covered him from behind. Rai used his machinegun kind of like a sniper rifle and shot at anything that he saw even twitch.

That's when Rai saw Cornelia's Knightmare.

-And also saw that Zero's Knightmare was going to ram it.

"Shit!" Rai screamed as he was nearly thrown off the Knightmare. Zero's Knightmare sent Cornelia's through a wall. She fired a grappling hook at them, taking off the arm that (thankfully) Rai wasn't sitting right next to. Rai fired at Cornelia's Knightmare, ruining on of her Knightmare's arms. Cornelia tried to hit Zero's Knightmare with her gun, but Kallen came from behind and shot the gun out of Cornelia's Knightmare's hand. Cornelia's Knightmare was tied up by another grappling hook.

"I'll smash your hatch and drag you out!" Zero proclaimed. "Cornelia!" Zero pointed his Knighmare's gun at her.

Something caught Rai's eye. He looked and saw Shirley standing no more than a few yards away from the fighting. Zero must have seen her too, because he hesitated. That hesitation gave the Lancelot the opportunity to kick Zero's Knightmare in the face.

-And send Rai flying through the air. Rai actually fell a short distance away from Shirley. He didn't know what else happened after that because he hit his head and delved into the darkness of unconsciousness.

_One Inconvenient Nap Later _

"Son of a bitch! That hurt!" Rai shouted the moment he woke up. Lelouch and C.C. were standing over him. His head felt like someone had tried to crack it open like an egg. He touched the back his head and flinched when he looked at it and saw blood.

"You're lucky to be alive." C.C. pointed out. Rai rolled his eyes, and then noticed his eye patch was missing. He swore repetitively as he looked around for it.

"Zero, come in! Zero!" They heard Ohgi's voice coming from Lelouch's walkie-talkie. Lelouch was so shaken up that he couldn't answer, so C.C. answered for him.

"Ohgi? Is that you?" she asked. "It's C.C."

"Yes, how is Zero doing?" Ohgi asked.

"He's okay but he can't move now. Order a retreat. If we drag this out we'll be slaughtered." C.C. ordered.

"Ah yes, I understand. Got it." Ohgi replied. Rai looked to Lelouch and saw him starting at his Zero mask.

"Is that what you wanted?" C.C. asked him. Lelouch snapped out of his stupor.

"Uh, yes…" Lelouch said. C.C. walked towards him.

"This is pathetic; you're so shook up you can't even issue orders and Cornelia will-." Lelouch interrupted her.

"Listen to me, my handgun is missing. Whoever has it now must have taken it from me when I was unconscious." Lelouch told her.

"If that's true, it means they saw your face." C.C. said quietly.

"There were at least two of them. One who fired and one who got shot. Two." Lelouch told her.

"Ah ha!" Rai suddenly shouted. "I've found my eye patch!" The other two stared at him blankly.

* * *

"Suzaku." Lelouch said. Rai eyed him for a moment. The three of them were back at the Black Knights base. They were in a room that was under the staircase. Lelouch was sitting at a desk. He was calling the school to investigate things. C.C. was lying on the couch that was across the room from the desk and Rai was sitting on top of the desk.

"Lelouch?" Rai heard from the other end.

"Is there…anything unusual there?" Lelouch asked.

"Yeah there is," Suzaku answered. "You're not here." Rai smiled how cute that sounded. Lelouch let out an airy chuckle.

"Right." Lelouch said.

"Shirley and Rai didn't show up either by the way." Suzaku said. Lelouch didn't respond. "You know Lelouch you've been cutting classes lately. You need to take school more seriously." Suzaku scolded.

"Right, Mr. Honor Student." Lelouch teased. "Can you give Nunnally a message? Tell her I'll be late tonight."

"Did you say tonight? More like every night! What's the point in going to the same school if I never see you?" Suzaku asked. Lelouch didn't answer him.

Suddenly they heard Suzaku yell out in surprise, and a bit of pain.

"What's going on?" Lelouch asked.

"Uh, nothing! Uh, hey Arthur-Arthur! Ow! Ah-." Suzaku's voice disappeared. All they heard was a beeping sound. Rai started laughing.

"Poor Suzaku, cats just are his friends-at least Arthur isn't." Rai snickered. Lelouch simply hung up, looking confused.

"So then it seems like-." C.C. said, sitting up.

"Right. It appears he doesn't know about me. That eliminates one group-military."

"Aside from them and the Black Knights, I can't think of anyone else who could've been there." C.C. said. Rai froze as he remembered something.

_Shirley…_Rai thought, horrified.

"Some one from the Japan Liberation Front could've survived." Lelouch wondered.

"And they only stole your gun?" C.C. questioned.

"I think I'll have Ohgi check out the Black Market, then." Lelouch said, walking over to the couch and sitting on it as well.

"And the blood?" C.C. asked, falling sideways to lie down again.

"It'll take time to analyze." Lelouch told her. "There's something else…I thought I saw Shirley there…"

"Oh, the girl who kissed you?" C.C. asked. Lelouch made an annoyed noise.

"Give it a rest, will ya'?" Lelouch told her.

"Just making sure I got the right girl, Lover Boy." C.C. teased Lelouch some more. Rai snickered and received a silencing glare from Lelouch. "But if she was there then there's something we need to know and we better find out fast." C.C. told him. Lelouch and C.C. looked at each other.

"Erm…do I have to be a part of whatever it is that you're planning? Or can I be excused from this little assignment?" Rai asked. Lelouch thought for a moment.

"Actually, I think I have something else in mind for you…" Lelouch said. Rai did not trust the tone of his voice. That was Lelouch's 'I'm plotting something you're not going to like' tone of voice.

"Wonderful." Rai grumbled sarcastically.

* * *

Lelouch's little assignment for Rai was simple. Keep an eye on Shirley and see if she was acting strangely. Unfortunately for Rai, that meant offering to escort Shirley to the new Narita Memorial.

Rai had offered to go with her after 'bumping' (Boy did Rai feel like a stalker when he hunted down Shirley that morning.) into Shirley and she told him where she was going. At first she refused, but Rai convinced her that a young (and pretty, as Rai told her.) woman should not be walking around alone. She finally agreed.

It wasn't until they got off the train and actually standing in front of the memorial that Rai realized that going with Shirley was the stupidest thing he could have ever done.

Rai stood silently next to Shirley, trying not to think of anything-trying to keep his mind clear. He knew who would show up to the Narita Memorial. And it was one of the most dangerous people Rai could think of.

Shirley re-zipped up her pink athletic bag. She stared at the ground in thought.

"Yes," a voice came from behind them. One that sent chills down Rai's spine. "How could he?" Shirley gasped and turned around. Rai turned as well.

_Fuck me and my horrible luck._ Rai thought darkly.

A man wearing a strange outfit (although Rai had seen stranger…usually something his friend Scott was wearing.) was standing there. He was a light blue vest-like thing that went nearly to his ankles with slits cut out of both side and only the top half had buttons, so the bottom half was open. He wore black pants underneath and brown boots and gloves with golden buckles on them. He had on a long sleeved maroon shirt on underneath the vest-thing, and an odd partial cape over it. He was also wearing purple headphones and had visor-like sunglasses on. His hair was silver, short in the back with long strips of bangs in the front. Although his eyes couldn't be seen, Rai already knew they wear red-violet with the Geass symbol in the middle of them.

Mao started clapping. "A very fine memorial." He complimented. "Isn't that right Miss Shirley Fenette and…" Mao scowled at Rai. "I'm sorry but what's your name?" Mao asked. His tone was suspicious.

_Doesn't he know it already? Maybe he's just toying with me or something… _"I'm Rai Bakura." Rai told him. Mao slowly smiled at Rai in a way that was frightening. He then turned his attention back to Shirley.

"He's a cruel man, isn't he, Lelouch." Mao said.

"H-how do you know about Lulu?" Shirley asked, taking a step back. Rai went and stood in front of her in a protective way.

"Shirley, I want to run as soon as there's an opening got it?" Rai whispered quietly. Shirley nodded, uncertain about what was going on.

"Aw, he deceived you, never told you he's Zero." Mao said, stepping. Shirley let out a loud gasp. Rai growled out in warning to Mao, easily slipping into a fighting stance.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Shirley asked, her bag falling to the ground.

"Shirley, don't listen to this guy, get out of here!" Rai told her.

"The same mouth that ordered your father's death, stole kiss from _your_ tender lips. He's a very bad man and _you like it_." Mao accused. Shirley continued to back away. Rai took a step towards Mao.

"Leave her alone you creeper!" Rai ordered. Mao paused in his steps and stared at Rai.

"Now, now, I'll deal with you in a moment." Mao dismissed him, continuing to move forward. "Punishment must be measured out. To him…and to you." Mao said, speaking to Shirley.

"To me?" Shirley asked, scared.

"I know everything. All that happened that night." Mao told her. Shirley went pale. "So you're a killer too, just like Zero."

"No…" Shirley gasped in horror. "That's not true."

"And you actually used your father death for your own gain." Mao said. Rai walked straight up to Mao and shoved him back.

"That's enough! Leave Shirley alone!" Rai demanded. Before Rai could blink, he was lying on his stomach on the ground, his head hurt like hell and he was _really_ dizzy.

"Cunning little woman. You knew he'd feel sorry for you, did you? So you played it for all it was worth." Mao smirked.

"No! You're wrong!" Shirley denied. Rai tried to sit up, only to have Mao's foot pin him back to the ground.

"Did his sympathy make you all tinglely?" Mao asked darkly.

"Stop it!" Shirley yelled. Rai looked up to see Shirley closing her eyes and covering her ears.

"You bastard!" Rai snarled, trying once again to get up. Mao's foot pressed even harder into his back.

"Down boy." Mao told him, treating Rai like a misbehaving dog. "Playing the tragic heroine again?" Mao asked Shirley.

"No, I'm not doing that!" Shirley shouted.

"A girl who kills, and then goes fishing for attention. Only evil witches do that." Mao taunted.

"The only witch _I_ see is you!" Rai insulted Mao, hoping that if he could keep Mao busy that Shirley could run away. _Damn it, if only I could get off the ground, I'd be able to kick his ass! He just caught me by surprise is all. _

The only thing that got Rai was a swift kick to the temple. Rai blacked out for a second. The next moment he was aware of, Mao was standing right in front of Shirley. Shirley was looking at him with big, frightened eyes.

"Now you have to pay the price, Shirley." Mao told her. Shirley let out a sob. She fell to her knees and began to cry. "Do you want to carry these feelings around for the rest of your life? All by yourself?" Mao began clapping again. "Unless you atone completely-free your heart, you and Lelouch will both be lost in your sins…forever."

Rai groaned softly, and tried to get up one more time. Mao walked back to Rai and smirked down at him. "I'm sorry, Little Rai, but it's nap time for now." Mao told him.

_What the hell is he-?!_ Rai didn't even get to finish his thought before he was once again kicked in the head. This time he stayed out for a while.

* * *

Rai woke up, groaning as a nasty headache decided to rear its ugly head. When he tried to sit up, he was shoved harshly back on to the bed.

Wait-What?

Rai opened his eyes to see a very upset Lelouch looming over him.

"How could you be so stupid?!" Lelouch hissed, obviously trying not to be too loud. Rai looked around.

Oh great, he was in Lelouch's room…again.

It was dark outside, so Rai believed it was safe to assume it was night-time.

"What are you talking about?" Rai asked Lelouch. C.C. came up to Rai and handed him a couple of pills and a glass of water.

"For the headache." She explained, pointing at Rai's head. Rai touched his head and winced.

_Oh fun, a lump. _"Thanks." Rai muttered, downing the pills and the water.

"What made you think that you could fight against a Geass user who could _read minds_?!" Lelouch demanded. Rai flinched, and then looked at Lelouch through narrowed eyes.

"I didn't know he could read minds. I didn't even know he had Geass." Rai lied. "Now that I think of it, that explains why he knew all those things about Shirley…and about you being Zero." Rai frowned. "Shit! What happened while I was out of commission?" Rai asked. Granted he already knew, but Lelouch didn't need to know that. Lelouch explained that Mao called Lelouch using Shirley's cell phone, and then lead Lelouch to a train cart. He said that Rai was lying unconscious in the train cart when Lelouch entered it. Lelouch and Mao had played chess while the train went up the hill. Lelouch discovered that Mao had the power of Geass and could read peoples minds. Mao had tried to get Shirley to kill Lelouch, but she couldn't do it. After Mao had fled, Lelouch used Geass on Shirley and made her forget about him.

"There was something strange that Mao mentioned while we were playing chess." Lelouch told Rai. "He said that you can C.C. had something in common. I wonder what he meant by that…" Lelouch frowned.

Rai could only think of two possible things. Either Mao had decided that he was going to stalk Rai like he did C.C. or Mao couldn't read Rai's thoughts (which would most likely end with Mao stalking him anyway.). The second idea made Rai go pale. How could that be possible? How would Mao not be able to read Rai's mind?

Unfortunately that led Rai to lean towards the first idea.

_But why would Mao want to stalk me? If I didn't know any better, I'd think some god or something was out to get me…Good thing I know better…I think… _"I should go to my dorm room." Rai said. Lelouch nodded.

"Be careful. We don't know what Mao might do next, so don't do anything stupid." Lelouch told him. Rai gave Lelouch the most withering look he could muster with such a headache.

"Why do you even care? If Mao does something to me, wouldn't that just make things easier for you? One less thing to worry about." Rai sneered, standing up. He felt wobbly, but was certain he could make it back to his dorm in one piece.

Lelouch lightly grabbed Rai's arm. The look on Lelouch's face…It confused Rai. It was a sad, but tender expression.

"Rai," Lelouch whispered. "I'm…sorry that I dragged you into this." He told Rai. "But, I couldn't think of another way to make sure you wouldn't tell anyone my secret." Lelouch let go of Rai's arm. Rai actually smiled shyly at Lelouch.

"I understand. If someone suddenly showed up knowing who I was, I'd be suspicious of them too." Rai said. "However, I suppose that it's too late for me to back out now, eh?" Lelouch looked confused.

Rai held out his hand to Lelouch.

"I'm not going to ask to be your partner. That's C.C. and yours deal. I am, however going to ask," Rai gave Lelouch the most 'Akuma'-like grin that could ever be achievable. "Zero, may I join the Black Knights?" Lelouch's eyes went wide at the question. He then grasped Rai's hand, and shook it.

"I suppose, we always need new recruits." Lelouch said drily. The two of them laughed.

Rai left Lelouch's room, sneaked to his dorm. He got ready for bed and then jumped backwards onto his bed. He was wearing nothing but his forest green boxers.

Now he was stuck, he was now willingly following Zero. He didn't even know why he did it.

_Maybe…Yes it was-because of the look in Lelouch's eyes when I first woke up. He looked so worried about me. Like he actually cared about me._ Rai sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. _Oh well, too late to take it back now. I might be stuck with Lelouch, but that goes both ways. And maybe-just maybe, I can stop some of the bad things from happening. Maybe I can stop Lelouch from accidently using Geass on Euphemia. Hell, maybe I can even change it so that Lelouch doesn't die at the end…but I won't get my hopes up._ Rai closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: There's something I've always wanted to know: Does Lelouch buy all of those outfits that C.C. wears? **

Rai couldn't have picked a worse time to go to the library. He had gone to drop off some books he had borrowed (he had run out of money to buy books) and to check out more.

And there _he _was. Mao was standing no more than twenty feet away from Rai. He was sweating profusely and looked like he was in pain. For some strange reason, he hadn't noticed Rai yet.

_Shit I've got to get out of here! Why couldn't the nut-job go freak out in a different library, huh? _Rai hid behind a bookshelf, and pretended to look through the books.

The only problem with trying to escape was that Rai would have to get past Mao. _Maybe if I just think of something generic while walking past him, and make sure he doesn't get a good look at me…It's worth a try. _Rai took several calming breaths, and then walked in Mao's direction.

_Man, I've got way too much homework. Why can't I get a girlfriend? Why does Scott always set my clothes on fire whenever he's stoned? _Rai kept thinking of things he believed were what normal people would think of. He tried to walk calmly, but he couldn't help but tense when he neared Mao.

Mao was listening to his headphones. Rai could even kind of hear C.C.'s voice since he had the volume up so loud. Mao seemed to be calming down.

Then Mao looked up and saw Rai.

_Shit, Fuck….Shit!_ Rai cursed in his mind. He had been doing way more swearing lately than he used to. But when you keep on finding yourself in near-death situations: you tend to start cussing more.

Mao smiled in an extremely creepy way when he saw Rai. Rai decided to make a break for it, but just as he almost past Mao, Mao grabbed Rai around the waist and pulled him into a hug.

"Aw, my Little Rai has come out to play!" Mao giggled, clutching Rai to his chest. Rai tried to wriggle out of Mao's grip, but the guy was way taller than Rai-and way stronger.

"Who are you calling yours?!" Rai snarled as he attempted to stomp on Mao's foot. Mao ignored Rai's struggles and dragged Rai off into a deserted section of the library. It was cloaked in shadows and far enough away that no one would accidently see them. After Rai bit Mao's hand hard enough to draw blood, Mao slammed Rai into the wall and held Rai there by his neck.

Rai struggled even more, fighting to breathe.

"I'll let you go only if you don't try to run away, got it?" Mao asked, leaning in too close to Rai. Rai nodded the best he could. Mao release Rai, who dropped onto his knees and coughed for air.

"W-what do you want?" Rai wheezed out. Mao clapped as he spoke.

"C.C…and you." Mao told Rai, pointing at the boy when he said 'you'. Rai slowly stood up and backed away as far as was possible from Mao…which was to the wall.

"I know why you want C.C. But why me?" Rai growled, scanning the area to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. Mao smiled his 'I'm a psychotic murderous stalker' smile and harshly pinned Rai completely to the wall, tightly grasping both of Rai's wrists and holding them above Rai's head.

"Just like I told Lulu. You're. Just. Like. C.C." Mao whispered; his glowing eyes eerie in the shadows of the section they were in.

"What the hell do you mean by that?!" Rai snapped. He tried to kick out at Mao.

Mao simply forced his legs in between Rai's so that Rai couldn't hit anything. He smirked evilly when Rai's face drained of color.

"I'm not sure how it's possible but," Mao snuggled into Rai's neck and whispered in his ear. "I can't read your mind." Mao's breath was warm and tickled Rai's ear. "Hum, but I wonder…" Mao's face lowered, Rai could feel him breathing on his neck. Rai froze, wondering what Mao was going to do. Mao lightly tugged the high collar of Rai's school uniform down.

Suddenly, Rai felt a sharp pain as Mao sank his teeth into Rai's neck.

"Ah!" Rai yelped. Something warm and liquidly began to run down from where Mao had bitten him. Then Mao lapped up the blood with a wet, velvety tongue. "What the hell…" Rai groaned softly.

Mao smirked against his skin.

"I was just curious if you could heal like C.C…Oh, looks like I was wrong." Mao muttered. Rai started struggling again.

"Let go of me you crazy bastard!" Rai shouted. Mao paused, and then tilted his head to one side like he was listening very carefully to something.

"Aw shoot. Looks like we'll have to continue this some other time, Little Rai. You made too much noise and people are coming to investigate…they think we're having sex or something." Mao informed Rai. Before Rai could voice his indignation at the sheer thought of doing…_that_ with someone like him, Mao relinquished his hold on Rai and ran off. Rai walked out of the dark section of the library, grumbling darkly and very glad that no one could see the bite mark because of his jacket's high collar. He left the library, ignoring the funny looks he had gotten from people who had been standing near the section Mao had assaulted him in, and made his way back to the school campus.

_Why me?_ Rai whined quietly. _Why do _I_ have to get into messes like these? How in hell can't Mao read my mind? I'm not sure which would be worst…wait no, him being able to read my mind would be way worse. He'd be able to know what Lelouch would be planning before Lelouch could even begin to think about it subconsciously. As…disturbing as Mao's stalking of me may be, it's better than everyone dying because Mao could read my mind. But urgh, did he really have to bite me? Honestly, what is he? A vampire? I thought he was in 'love' with C.C., so why in hell did he freaking try to molest me?! _

Rai stopped walking when he realized something. _Oh crap, if he can read Lelouch's mind, then Mao must already know that I'm working for Lelouch. What if he told Shirley? I know that Lelouch used Geass to make Shirley forget about him, but what about me? She still remembers me, she scolded me this morning for forgetting to make myself some lunch and said that I'm always forgetting things…which is true…But she didn't seem to act any differently than normal-she was actually very happy, so…she doesn't know about me being 'Akuma'._

_But there's another thing that's bugging me…If Mao's Geass can't work on me, does that mean that other Geass' won't work either? That would mean that the entire time I was scared (and still am) of Lelouch using Geass on me was all for nothing! But I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, there is a possibility that Mao being unable to read my mind is just a fluke, and that other Geass' would work just fine on me…_

Rai sighed in annoyance and continued to walk back to school.

* * *

Rai followed Lelouch up the carpeted stairs of the Student Counsel meeting house. The stairs branched of into a staircase going left and a staircase going right. Rai went up the right staircase along with Lelouch. Lelouch's entire body was tense. He was stressing out about the whole situation with Mao…and Rai hadn't even told him about what happened at the library.

"Tsk, I could put him in check in I just had one-!" Lelouch snarled. His frustration shone through every moment he made

"Missing piece?" C.C. finished for him, walking down on the opposite staircase. "You and I are thinking exactly the same thing." Rai stepped back out of their way as Lelouch and C.C. met in between the two branching staircases.

"So it seems." Lelouch said in a monotone.

"Then we should work together on this, don't you agree?" C.C. asked.

"I do." Lelouch said.

"You may now kiss the bride-." Rai tried to say.

"Shut up, Rai." Both C.C. and Lelouch ordered. They all heard Lelouch's phone ringing. Lelouch answered it.

"Yes?" Lelouch questioned. Rai could faintly hear Mao's voice on the other end.

"It's me, Lulu. C.C.'s there's too, isn't she? I want to talk to her alone. Put her on." Mao demanded. Lelouch handed C.C. the phone. C.C. walked down the stairs out of Lelouch and Rai's hearing. After a few moments she hung up the phone and smiled up at them.

"You should be happy about this, Lelouch; we're finally going our separate ways." C.C. told Lelouch. Lelouch didn't respond. "I made up with Mao." She threw the phone to Lelouch, who caught it with ease.

"You're betraying me?" Lelouch asked coldly.

"Are you actually saying that?" C.C. laughed. "When were you my friend? Never. We were just coconspirators, that's all." C.C. continued to walk away.

"Wait!" Lelouch ordered. C.C. paused in her steps.

"Well, this is a surprise-you sound just like Mao." C.C. taunted. Since Rai was standing with Lelouch's back to him, he couldn't see Lelouch's face, but he knew Lelouch was going to try to use Geass on C.C.

"C.C., you know way too much about me, now. I can let you walk away like this." Lelouch said. "Don't go. C.C. stay here with me!" No one moved for a moment. Then C.C. fully faced Lelouch, a bored expression on her face.

"Geass does not work on me. Didn't I mention that?" C.C. told him. Rai saw Lelouch's hands curl into fists as Lelouch made an angry noise. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you. You can keep your Geass too. And Mao wouldn't bother you anymore; he'll never cross your path. Speaking of which, if you don't mind I'm taking Rai with me." C.C. looked directly at Rai with a meaningful expression. Rai knew exactly what she meant. Rai glanced at Lelouch, before nodding to C.C. and running to catch up to her. "So all of your obstacles are gone, congratulations." C.C. walked out the door, Rai going with her. "And farewell."

Rai walked along side C.C., frowning darkly.

"So Mao…" Rai didn't have to finish his sentence. Mao must have told C.C. to bring Rai with her.

"Yes." C.C. replied. Rai groaned and kicked a helpless pebble that was in his way.

"Great, wonderful, fucking-fantastic, this is just my luck." Rai complained.

"Oh stop your whining. It won't accomplish a thing." C.C. scolded.

They continued walking in silence for an hour. That's how long it took them to reach the amusement park. Clovis Land.

* * *

Rai and C.C. stood in the darkness. All of the rides and attractions turned off and reminded Rai of an episode of Scooby Doo.

_All that's missing is an insane criminal. _Rai thought glumly, knowing that the Mao was already there and so technically not missing.

They heard a whirling sound. Rai and C.C. watched as the Ferris wheel lit up. The other rides and attractions slowly turned on too.

_Never mind, I should be on the look out for a robot gone rouge._ Rai would've voiced this sarcastic remark, but he'd be the only one to get it. Music was playing, echoing its ghostly tone throughout the park. The stage behind them lit up, and the screen showed off pretty colors. The carousel on their right turned on. Horses moving up and doing as the contraption spun. C.C. and Rai watched the carousel. Mao appeared, riding on one of the horses.

"C.C. your mind is so quiet, yours too Rai. They're the only ones I can't read! You two are the best there is." Mao said excitedly.

"As childish as ever, I see." C.C. chided.

"Don't forget creepy." Rai muttered.

"I'm a prince on a white stallion." Mao boasted. "And the prince as to rescue the princess!" Mao jumped off the carousel and walked towards them laughing.

"I think it's okay to assume that you're the princess…either that or the evil dragon." Rai told C.C.

C.C. refused to even comment on Rai's statement.

"Does that make you happy C.C.?" Mao asked.

"Mao, we talked about this before. I told you that you and I-." Mao interrupted C.C.

"Those were all lies." Mao said. "Lies! C.C. you love me and this is how I know." Mao took off his headphones.

"Thank you Mao." C.C.'s voice came from the headphones.

"Do I even want to know how he got a recording of your voice?" Rai asked, eyeing the headphones in a slightly freaked way.

"Mao, Mao-." The recording continued.

"Stop it!" C.C. shouted. She obviously had enough with Mao's lunacy.

"C.C. you're the only one-the only one I want…besides Little Rai here." Mao smiled at Rai momentarily before looking back at C.C. It made Rai's skin crawl. "Forever! Lelouch doesn't matter at all. If you'd just come with me." Mao moved closer to C.C. and tried to grab her.

"Stop it!" C.C. repeated, backing out of the way and pulling out a gun. Mao's headphones fell to the ground, accidently knocked out of Mao's hand. Rai stepped away from them both. Mao gasped when he saw the gun, and didn't move. "I should have done this a long, long time ago." C.C. growled. She went to pull the trigger. Rai closed his eyes and covered his ears in preparation for the sound of the gunshot.

When he opened his eyes, he saw C.C. fall down onto her knees, holding her wounded right arm with her left.

"I knew!" Mao said happily. He was also holding a gun. "I knew you couldn't pull the trigger. That's 'cause you really love me C.C.!" Mao laughed gleefully and clapped his hands.

"She doesn't love you, she pities you!" Rai snapped. Mao continued to laugh.

"You're wrong; I was just using you from the start!" C.C. told Mao. That stopped Mao's laughing.

"What are you saying? You shouldn't tell lies like that, you really shouldn't." Mao looked almost hurt. He then shot C.C. again. C.C. fell backwards onto her back and writhed around some.

"Mao, stop it!" Rai shouted. Mao didn't hear him. Rai would've tried to stop Mao, but he was unarmed and unlike C.C. he could magically heal super fast. He still had that bite mark from earlier!

"Lies are very, very wicked! Wicked lies!" Mao continued to rant. He shot C.C. over and over. "Don't worry," Mao said as he kept shooting. "I understand." C.C.'s body actually lifted off the ground while he was firing. When he stopped she fell back down. "C.C. you must listen to me. I've built a big brand new house in Australia. A very quiet, white immaculate special house." Mao stared off into space, pouting slightly. The hand not holding the gun clenched a bit, as if he were imagining that he was strangling something. "But to get to Australia you need to take an airplane and there isn't very much room." Mao walked past Rai. "The thing is C.C. you're a little too big to bring on a plane." Rai had to turn around to keep Mao in his line of sight.

"What kind of plane are you planning to fly in?!" Rai asked. Mao simply looked back and smiled at Rai. He then continued to the stage and searched for something underneath the ramp leading onto the stage. "So that's why," Mao pulled out a chainsaw and started it. "I'm going to make you compact!" Mao said with a childish smile. Rai would've laugh at how ridiculous that idea was, if he didn't know that Mao was serious. "It'll take no," Mao swing the chainsaw at a sign and sliced through it like a hot knife through butter. "Time at all!" The sign clattered to the ground.

"Is this your revenge? You're punishing me?" C.C. asked weakly. Mao turned back to C.C.

"Oh no, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not at all!" Mao's voice got gruffer for a second as he spoke, and then went back to the way it normally was at the end…which was still crazy. "I'm showing you my gratitude!" Mao smiled at C.C.

"I'm to think of what you'd do to someone you hated!" Rai nearly shrieked, his pitch going up several octaves. Mao didn't reply.

"So this is the place where you hid." Lelouch's voice came from the screen on the stage. Mao stopped the chainsaw and glared at the screen. Rai and C.C. both looked as well. "A place where there'd be no one else's thoughts to bother you." On the screen the camera slowly scrolled down a tower, stopping to show Lelouch standing at the foot of the tower. "That narrowed it way down." The camera zoomed in on Lelouch's face.

"Lelouch." Mao whispered.

"About time!" Rai's voice was higher pitched than he meant it as he gave Lelouch a 'Get us out of here!!' look.

"Since your Geass has a total maximum range of five hundred meters, it can't reach me here at Tokyo Tower." Lelouch said. Mao laughed manically and clapped his hands.

"That's true, that's very true!" Mao admitted. "But what can you do from so away, hm? After taking all that trouble to hack into the system, what's your grand plan? A remote control attack with some battery operated toys? Or a tongue lashing to lecture me into submission?" Lelouch didn't say anything. "Ah, cat got your tongue now. If you want C.C. then you're going to have to come-."

"Mao, think." Lelouch interrupted. "You don't think C.C.'s her real name do you? She never even whispers it to anyone." That shut Mao up for a moment. He turned his head and stared wide-eyed at C.C. There was silence for a few seconds.

"But I know it though." Lelouch taunted. "She told _me_ her true name." Mao gawked stupidly at C.C.

"Is that right C.C.? You never told me, ever, ever!" Mao said. "But you told it to him?!"

"You know why?" Lelouch asked. "Because C.C. is mine." Mao's face twisted in anger as he looked back at Lelouch. "C.C. belongs to me in _every_ possible way."

"Because that doesn't sound like an innuendo." Rai muttered.

"No!" Mao leaped onto the stage. "She doesn't. She doesn't, she doesn't, she doesn't!" Mao threw a small fit as he talked. "She was mine long before she met you!"

"I gained every single thing from her. Including all of the parts that _you_ have never seen." Lelouch goaded. "All of them." Mao let out a pained-angry snarl when he heard this. Rai was actually trying not to laugh at how inappropriate that sounded. Now was not the time nor the place to giggle about Lelouch's (most likely on purpose) word choice.

"Lelouch!" Mao spoke through clenched teeth. He turned the chainsaw back on. "Face me! Lelouch!" Mao hacked at the screen with his chainsaw. "Come here! Come here so I look into your mind! I'll see the truth! I'll see what a liar you are! LIAR!" Mao shouted. Sparks flew from the screen and electricity crackled.

"Mao, you've lost." Lelouch said before the screen finally died.

"What are you talking about?!" Mao demanded. "I don't care; I'm going to be with C.C. and Rai!"

"Leave me out of it!" Rai snapped.

Mao suddenly gasped and looked out into the park.

"Is that Lelouch?" Mao wondered, looking around like a paranoid rat. "But he's too far away…" He looked frightened and in pain. "Those sounds-all of those voices!"

The police appeared, surrounding the stage. There was a Knightmare and the men were holding those kinds of shields you see SWAT teams use. "What are they doing here?!" Mao cried. A spotlight shinned down on Mao. Rai looked up and saw a helicopter.

"Remain where you are!" A man in the helicopter ordered. The police moved to completely surround Mao. "Throw down your weapon and raise your hands!"

"It's the police! Who contacted them?!" Mao asked in horror. C.C. sat up a bit and watched with mild surprise on her face. A police officer walked over to C.C. and picked her up bridal style. He also picked up C.C.'s gun. Rai grinned, knowing it was Lelouch in disguise. Rai heard Mao gasp. C.C. looked up at Lelouch's face.

"Lelouch!" she said in a quiet voice. "What are you doing here?"

"It can't be! He was just at Tokyo Tower, he can't be here now!" Mao exclaimed. Lelouch looked up and smirked at Mao. "That's a lie! You were talking to me-answering me!" Mao argued. Rai noticed how strange it was not to hear Lelouch's side of the conversation-since Lelouch was thinking instead of speaking. "You predicted every one of my answers? Don't play games with me, punk! If the cops arrest me, I'll be back out a heartbeat!" Mao snarled. Suddenly he covered one of his ears with his free hand, he still hadn't let go of the chainsaw. "Shut up! Stop taunting me!!" Mao shouted. "So you used the monitor to keep me distracted? Even so, I can still defeat you. I'll have you RUINED!"

Lelouch walked away, Rai followed behind him. Not even bothering to look back at Mao.

"Lelouch-wait! If I talk to him, I can get through!" C.C. tried convincing Lelouch.

"You think _I'll_ die?" Mao scoffed. "Listen you cops; you know who that guy is? He's the terrorist you want. He's Ze-." Mao didn't get to finish speaking.

"FIRE!" shouted the commanding officer. The air was filled with the sound of gunfire as the police shot at Mao. Lelouch turned away from the stage so that C.C. wouldn't be able to see Mao get riddled with bullets.

"Oh, Mao!" C.C. cried. Mao laid on the stage, chain saw at his feet.

"…Zero…" he gasped out. Mao's body stilled. He didn't get back up.

Lelouch, C.C., and Rai rode in the helicopter and landed on top of a building

"Mao was only six years old when I made my contract with him. He was an orphan who had never known the love of a parent. He couldn't read or write and he knew nothing of good and evil." C.C. told Lelouch and Rai. They stepped off the helicopter.

"This is Echo Three, I've released the hostage into the ghetto as ordered." The pilot said into his radio.

Rai smiled ironically. They watched the helicopter take off and C.C. continued her story.

"When I gave the Geass power to Mao, it isolated him. In his mind, I became his only friend…and his lover. Though I was still a prefect stranger." C.C. stared off over the side of the building. "I'm the only one he even thought of as human. I was Mao's entire world."

"C.C., listen to me." Lelouch ordered. "I won't let Geass destroy me. I will conquer its power and bend it to my will. And use it to change the world. I'll fulfill your desire and my own. And I will complete the contract that he couldn't achieve." Lelouch lowered his voice "So please-."

"Lelouch tell me," C.C. interrupted him. "Are you trying to comfort me?"

"Because you're doing a poor job at it." Rai quipped. Lelouch lightly smacked Rai upside the head.

"Or is this, part of your obsession?" C.C. asked, acting as if Rai hadn't spoken at all. She looked at Lelouch.

The two of them stared at each before Lelouch answered.

"It's a contract. This time, it's from me to you." He told her. A small smile graced C.C.'s lips.

"Very well then." She said, now facing Lelouch. "I accept your contract." C.C. held out her hand to Lelouch. Lelouch dropped the policeman's hat he had been holding, and then slowly grasped C.C.'s hand.

It was quiet for a moment. Rai cleared his throat.

"Yes well, as interesting as it is watching you two get all sappy on top of a skyscraper like this…Can we go back to the school's campus yet? I'm hungry." Rai griped.

**A/N: Oh by the way, if anyone has an idea for a better title for this story, could you please message me? I don't really like the title I have right now, but I couldn't think of anything…and I still can't. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: By the way, along with the main story, I'm going to be doing 'side chapters' which will just be kind of one shot mini stories that happened at some point, but not at a specific point in time. If you have any requests, message me or put it in a review. Like if you want to know a little bit more about Rai's past, or if you want to see something happen that's not really an important part of the story or whatever.**

The bell was ringing. Echoing throughout the entire campus as Rai walked to class with Lelouch. Rai was still on edge, and nothing Lelouch could say would make Rai relax.

_I know that Mao is still alive, but I can't tell Lelouch without him suspecting something. He reluctantly trusts me now as it is. I'm sure he still believes that I might rat on him at any moment. Whatever happens, I can't let Lelouch know that where I come from, he's just a character in a show. Although I know he can be a good guy…I also know that he'll use me given the chance if it will help him reach his goals. But Mao's going to kidnap Nunnally. I think that he actually has already done it. Crap, what am I going to do? Since I've decided not to play safe anymore, and actually interfere with the story a bit-I still need to be careful. I know only what happens if it has nothing to do with me. Even if I want to change everything, I can't just going around and do whatever I want. There is a possibility that I could make things worse. Damn, it's like walking a tight rope for the first time, and there's a bed of spike beneath you instead of a net. _Rai was so caught up in his moping that he didn't see Suzaku run up to them and missed part of the conversation Lelouch and Suzaku were having.

"Hey I thought you were in Engineering?" Lelouch asked Suzaku. Rai felt puzzled by this. Suzaku had told the others that he was in Engineering, so why did he tell Rai about the Lancelot on the day of the funeral? Lelouch was Suzaku's best friend, if anyone _Lelouch_ should've been the one Suzaku would tell that to.

"Uh-We're shorthanded so they move me around." Suzaku explained. Rai tried not to frown at the lie.

_They're such close friends that they're practically like brothers…and yet they keep so many secrets from each other. _Rai had to fight the sad look that was threatening to appear.

"Still, how about dropping by for dinner more often? Nunnally misses you. Are you free this evening?" Lelouch asked. Rai shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously. He really didn't want to be late for class, and all the other students were hurrying past the three boys.

"Yeah I could come tonight, but are you sure it's okay? I don't want to cause any one-AH!?" Suzaku finished his sentence with a yell of surprise when Rivalz nearly ran him over with his motorbike when he came screeching to a stop. Suzaku held his school bag in front of him like it was going to protect him from Rivalz's bike. Rai had to jump out of the way so he didn't get hit, but he bumped into Lelouch.

"Hey! Lelouch!" Rivalz's voice was several octaves too high for Rai's liking when Rivalz scrambled off the bike.

"What's wrong?" Lelouch asked, not seeming remotely surprised. There were a few people who stopped and stared at the display that Rivalz was making of himself. Rai gave them an apologetic smile. Why did he always hang out with people like this? Rai himself didn't like to make much noise, but everyone else around him seemed to.

"I heard the President's out doing a blind date-thing again!" Rivalz spoke breathlessly.

"Yeah, today." Lelouch answered.

"Today?!" Rivalz screamed. Rai took a step away from the overly dramatic boy. "Why didn't you tell me out it?!" Rivalz demanded angrily as he grabbed the front of Lelouch's shirt. Lelouch didn't seem remotely bothered by it. He just leaned back a bit from Rivalz.

"Because it'd make you cry." Lelouch told him.

"Boys don't cry!" Rivalz growled.

"It's okay, I didn't know about it either." Suzaku sighed. Rai smiled reassuringly at him. Rivalz one the other hand turned his wrath to Suzaku.

"Don't your emo routine!" Rivalz snapped.

"Emo?" Suzaku wondered. Rai couldn't help but laugh at the puppy-like confused look on Suzaku's face.

"I guess compassion is not in fashion these days." Lelouch sighed. "So anyways, are we on for dinner tonight with Nunnally?" Lelouch asked Suzaku.

"Sure." Suzaku agreed. Lelouch suddenly took off into a run. "What about school?!" Suzaku reminded him.

"Don't worry I'll be right back, I'm just going to go tell her about it." Lelouch explained over his shoulder.

"My life is over, and he's worried about dinner!" Rivalz complained, sinking to the ground. Rai patted him shyly on the back.

"There, there. You'll find a girl I'm sure…eventually." Rai told Rivalz.

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Rivalz asked, pouting up at Rai.

"Not really." Rai smiled cheerfully as he said it.

"Gee, thanks." Rivalz muttered crankily. Both Suzaku and Rai laughed, and then the three of them went to class.

* * *

"A fight? Shirley and Lelouch?" Suzaku asked Rivalz, looking over his shoulder. He was crouching on the ground, holding out a spoon filled with some type of food and feeding it to Arthur. Kallen was sitting on her knees in front of Suzaku, with Arthur sitting right next to her and eyeing the spoon with his tail swishing against the carpet. Rivalz and Nina were sitting across from each other at the meeting table, eating pizza. Rai was sitting with his back against the book shelves, playing a hand held game that Rivalz let him borrow but listening as well.

"Right," Rivalz confirmed. "She's pretending she doesn't know him and the President said we're supposed to play along." Rivalz explained. "Oh right-what's up with her blind date?!" Rivalz bemoaned. Rai stood up and nicked a piece of pizza while no one was looking, and then sat back against the book shelves.

"Never mind that," Suzaku redirected the conversation. "If Shirley and Lelouch are fighting-." Suzaku sounded worried.

"Leave them alone, it's just a little lovers' spat, that's all." Kallen interrupted him calmly. Suzaku looked to her.

"But you-." He tried to say something.

"Don't think that way. I've got nothing to do with him." Kallen said forcefully, looking at Arthur instead of Suzaku as she spoke.

"So he hasn't taken the plunge yet, huh?" Rivalz inquired. He was now resting with his head on the table and his arms out like a pillow.

"Plunge?" Nina asked.

"Well Lelouch with _theories_ but he's not so good with the real thing." Rivalz elaborated.

"R-real thing?" Rai was sure Nina was blushing from the way she talked.

"I mean he doesn't have 'experience'." Rivalz said. Nina looked away, embarrassed about something.

"'Experience'?" she asked.

They suddenly all heard Suzaku shout in pain. Rivalz sat up straighter and they looked to see Arthur had bitten Suzaku…again. Arthur was growling somewhat.

"What's the matter, you don't like your food?" Kallen asked Arthur.

"Arthur, why do you always do this?" Suzaku whined slightly. Rai put down his game and reached out to Arthur. Arthur eyed Rai for a moment, and then released his hold on Suzaku and walked lazily over to Rai. Rai placed Arthur on his lap and scratched behind both of the cat's ears. Suzaku pouted somewhat at Rai when they heard Arthur purring. "You need to teach me how to do that." Suzaku told Rai.

Rai simply smiled at Suzaku. Then the door to the meeting room slid open. Lelouch entered. He was completely out of breath and wearing a headset for his phone.

"Hey Lelouch, what happened to you and Shirley huh?" Rivalz asked as he waved. Lelouch gave him a funny, distracted look.

"Huh? What?" Lelouch asked. His eyes scanned the room.

"Just give her some flowers." Rivalz advised.

"And what about your classes? You better go-." Suzaku was about to scold Lelouch, but then he saw the panicked look on Lelouch's face.

"Excuse me." Lelouch turned to leave. "Oh, and I'll talk to you later about dinner." Lelouch told Suzaku. He exited the room quickly. Suzaku and Rai shared a concerned look. Rai nodded and then handed Arthur to Kallen.

"You think he's going gambling again, huh Arthur?" Kallen asked the cat. Arthur meowed in reply. Suzaku and Rai both stood up and followed Lelouch out of the room. They found Lelouch standing on the middle landing of a staircase, frowning at a photograph and in deep thought.

"Lelouch." Suzaku called out. Lelouch gasped as he saw Suzaku and Rai coming up the stairs towards him. His fingers slipped on the photo and it dropped to the ground. Suzaku and Rai saw it before Lelouch could pick it up. "That's…" Suzaku whispered. Suzaku frowned darkly. "I thought so, something's happened to Nunnally." Suzaku summarized.

Lelouch began walking away, and Suzaku and Rai followed him. "Who kidnapped Nunnally? It can't be a Britannian, or someone from the royal family?" Suzaku guessed.

"No. This has nothing to do with our bloodline." Lelouch told him. "Just a psychopath who wants to keep a girl all to himself…and Rai." Lelouch explained, glancing at Rai. Rai refused to answer when Suzaku tried to ask about it, simply mumbling darkly under his breath about bad luck and libraries not having enough escape routes. They searched all over the school grounds.

"So he's threatening you?" Suzaku inquired.

"Yes, an investigation could reveal who we are, that's why…I can't go to the army or the police." Lelouch said. He knelt to the ground, resting for a moment. Lelouch stared into nothing, thinking.

"Then there's no choice, we'll have do it on our own." Suzaku paused for a moment when he thought of something. "This isn't about your gambling though, is it-?"

"It has nothing to do with that." Lelouch cut him off.

"Okay…Do you have any leads?" Suzaku asked.

"Just this photo. I know that he's somewhere very close by watching me." Lelouch said. He suddenly gasped. "And now that I think of it I heard the sound of running water to!" Lelouch realized.

"Water?" Suzaku wondered.

"Where in the school would there be running water like that in the background?" Rai asked. He hated this, he already knew, but he couldn't tell Lelouch and Suzaku or else they might get curious as to how he figured it out so quickly especially since he had never been near the place where Mao was hiding Nunnally.

"The Circulation System!" Suzaku said. Lelouch stood up and the three of them practically ran to the building where the Circulation System was under.

They went inside and quickly found an elevator. "Something's still off though," Lelouch used his keycard to open the elevator.

"What?" Lelouch asked. There was a beeping sound as the machine scanned Lelouch's keycard.

"Normally you'd honed in on that." Suzaku pointed out. Lelouch posture went rigid for a moment.

"It's harder to stay cool and think things through if you're loved ones are at stake." Rai muttered. Lelouch made a frustrated noise as he pocketed his keycard.

"What is it?" Suzaku asked.

"He changed the codes. We'll have to hack into the system." Lelouch said, already beginning to fiddle with the keys on the pad.

"But that against school rules." Suzaku argued. Rai rolled his eyes.

"And I've been called a boy scout." Rai teased. Suzaku and Lelouch had no clue what Rai was talking about, so they ignored what he said.

"I'll change them back later." Lelouch dismissively said.

"Then let me do it." Suzaku offered.

"Too late," Lelouch told him as the elevator doors finally opened. "I got it." They entered the elevator.

"That was fast…" Suzaku frowned. The monitor in the elevator pinged on and Lelouch worked on it. "You're a little too good at that." Suzaku scolded.

"The Student Counsel has partial access to these areas." Lelouch explained. The elevator descended.

"Lelouch I see, this is how you've been getting off campus isn't it? Your little 'escape route'." Suzaku didn't look pleased.

"Huh? Uh yeah, sometimes." Lelouch mumbled. There was a tense silence.

"Don't get too mad at him Suzaku. I know how to do that as well…granted Lelouch was the one who taught me, but whatever." Rai shrugged. This simply made Suzaku scowl lightly at Lelouch.

"You're a bad influence." Suzaku accused. Lelouch laughed a bit, but it was hollow.

The elevator came to a stop and they hid on either side of the door, with Lelouch and Rai on one side and Suzaku on the other.

"How does it look?" Lelouch asked as he tried to look out without actually sticking his head out. Suzaku was using the reflection off his cell phone to see out the doorway.

"You were right, the door's guarded. There's a machine gun linked to the security camera." Suzaku reported.

"Where'd the guy get a machine gun? Don't they run background checks on people before they let them buy weaponry?" Rai grumbled moodily. The Black Knights found it easily to buy weapons so the answer was already obvious.

"The lag on these systems is timed .05 seconds." Suzaku said. He pocketed his cell phone.

"That means we can't access it this way. We'll have to head back up and disable them man-?!" Lelouch was trying to come up with a plan, but any plan he could've thought of was shot to hell as Suzaku suddenly sprinted out of the elevator without warning. "Wait!" Lelouch shouted. Rai could hear the machinegun fire as it targeted Suzaku. Rai and Lelouch peaked out the door and saw Suzaku evade the shots, run up a wall, and kick the machinegun, destroying it. Suzaku landed gracefully on the ground.

"Are you a soldier or a ninja?!" Rai asked him.

"Of all the reckless moves…" Lelouch muttered.

"Come one, let's go." Suzaku said, turning back to look at the other two. "Nunnally's waiting for us."

They raced down the hall. Suzaku in front, Rai in the middle, and Lelouch was lagging behind.

"Nunnally!" The three of them shouted.

"Lelouch, Suzaku…and Rai?" Nunnally asked. "Is that you?"

"I'm so sorry!" Lelouch apologized.

"Wait!" Suzaku warned Lelouch.

"I'll cut you loose!" Lelouch told Nunnally.

"Wait!" Suzaku and Rai repeated.

"Look up there." Suzaku pointed.

That's when they saw the bomb.

"A bomb." Lelouch muttered gravely. His headset turned on and he listened to it for a moment. When the other person hanged up he let out a short growl.

"Nunnally, we're going to defuse the bomb." Suzaku told the girl. He then smiled kindly at her even though she couldn't see it. "It's okay, don't worry. Lelouch and I can do anything together, you know that."

"That's right." Nunnally agreed, smiling as well. Lelouch studied the bomb.

"It's motion sensitive. Solenoid inside supplies the energy that keeps it constantly moving. If an external force interferes with the motion, then the bomb…" Lelouch observed.

"Explodes." Suzaku and Rai finished at the same time.

"Moving Nunnally even an inch will trigger it. That's the way it's set up." Suzaku said, also watching the bomb. Rai was pacing back and forth behind them, since he couldn't do anything to help. He knew nothing about bombs…Okay that was a lie, but they didn't need to know that.

"Can you calculate its range?" Lelouch asked Suzaku.

"It would wipe out everything within five or six hundred meters. Minimum." Suzaku answered. There was a silence, with the creaking of the bomb swinging over Nunnally being the only noise for a few seconds. "Do you think you could disarm it?" Suzaku asked.

"Theoretically. The power line to the detonator would need to be severed. Since he's not a pro at this, I'm sure I could figure out which lines are dummies. Still, we need to find another way to do it." Lelouch said.

"Why? If we chose the right one?" Suzaku questioned.

"Because you'd have to cut the line without disrupting the motion." Lelouch explained. "Which is impossible." Rai rolled his eyes, but it was unseen by the other two boys. With Lelouch and Suzaku around, nothing was impossible. If they had joined forces in the very beginning of the series, Lelouch would've taken over everything with ease.

"I'll do it." Suzaku confidently volunteered. "There's no choice."

"No, Suzaku! We don't have enough information to pull it off!" Lelouch refused.

"There's a time limit here! We can't afford to play it safe! As for information, it's starring you right in the face. I'm a soldier Lelouch, can you use that information?" Suzaku argued. Lelouch didn't say anything at first.

Then he came up with a plan.

* * *

Rai walked next to Lelouch. They had left Suzaku with Nunnally and headed to the school's church. That's where Mao was hiding.

They entered and saw Mao. His arms were bandaged up and one was in a cast. He was wearing his brown boots and gloves, as well as his sunglasses, headphones, a black hat and a lavender shirt with the same color pants. He stood when he saw the two boys.

"Well if it isn't Casanova and Little Rai!" Mao greeted. Lelouch's face was neutral, but Rai scowled at Mao's nickname for him.

"Stop calling me that!" Rai demanded. Mao ignored what he said and began clapping as Lelouch and Rai walked closer.

"No weapons, no strategy, you didn't defuse the bomb, didn't deploy the Black Knights, or your friend." Mao listed off as he kept clapping. "What's wrong Lulu?" He finally stopped clapping.

"I'm not explaining anything to you." Lelouch said. "The final game, is it ready?"

Mao nodded with a serious frown.

"Let's put on end to this." Mao said, pulling off a cloth that was covering the table behind him. "With your specialty."

There was a chess game laid out as well as a scale. Lelouch stood on one side of the game board, with Mao on the other. Rai sat down in the front pew and watched quietly. Mao began explaining what he was planning. "You see, the scale is the bomb's detonator and its cancelation switch." He picked up a black piece. "The chess pieces we capture will go here." He demonstrated by putting the piece on the side of the scale next to him. The meter above the scale had a black arrow, which was now leaning to Mao's side instead of being in the middle. "If the needle swings all the way towards me, the bomb goes off. "If it swings towards you, the bomb will be disarmed. In short, if you win the game your sister's life will be saved."

"Your mind is twisted." Lelouch growled at Mao. "No wonder C.C. left you."

"Provoking me won't work. I can read your thoughts, so I know what you're trying to do." Mao reminded Lelouch. "And don't bother thinking that Rai could simply run up and press down on your side of the scale. Because if he even so much as twitches from the position he's in right now, I'll set off the bomb." Mao warned, smiling at Rai when he said the last part. The game started.

Rai hated having to sit still; it wasn't in his nature to not move around. But he didn't even scratch his (now very itchy) nose.

Lelouch was losing even though the game had just barely begun. Mao let another piece clank into his side of the scale. "I'm afraid you're not the type of person who can keep their mind empty." Mao told Lelouch. "There's a part of you that's a critic, constantly watching your own moves. And there's another part that's an observer, watching the critic-watching you. You're _that_ kind of person." Mao chuckled after he spoke. "By I know all your thoughts so I'm always a step ahead. You can't win." Mao captured yet another one of Lelouch's pieces.

"And you're the type of person that likes to hear him self talk. Do you ever find yourself answering back? Because Mao, you seem like the person who argues with himself…and _loses_." Rai snarled.

Mao actually gave Rai a fierce look because of that.

"Hush Little Rai, there's no need to get moody." There was a bit of a dark edge on his voice as Mao spoke. Mao dropped another piece onto the scale. Lelouch glanced from the board to the scale and then made a frustrated noise.

Mao did his annoying clapping thing again "Bravo! You're plan is to think of seven things at once to confuse me and trip me up!" Mao said, very amused with Lelouch. Lelouch moved one of his pieces. "But you see: if I focus my Geass directly on you it's easily to tell which one is your true thought." Lelouch gritted his teeth at this proclamation. Mao took another piece. Lelouch glowered at him. "Aw, your last plan is failing as well. You underestimated me." Mao tossed the piece up into the air and then caught it. "That's why your sister is…" He tossed the piece onto the scale. It made a sharp rattling noise as it landed.

The arrow on the scale was almost completely pointing to Mao's side. Lelouch watched it, frightened. Mao smirked at Lelouch's panicked expression. "'What do I do? I'm out of strategies! I can't call for back up as long as Nunnally's being held hostage!'" Mao quoted what Lelouch was thinking as he pulled something out of his pocket. He dropped a coin on the ground, which caused Lelouch to gasp, thinking it was another chess piece on the scale. "Sorry, sorry." Mao fake apologized. "I dropped it." He picked up the coin and placed it in his pocket.

Lelouch gasped again. Mao clapped once. Lelouch's gaze went back to the board. "Your turn, better hurry." Mao taunted. Lelouch reached out a hand to the board. "Lookie, lookie, time's running out. Your little sister's not going to make it."

There was a pause as Lelouch lightly touched one of his pieces. "Ah, is that the right move?" Lelouch looked up at Mao. "Are you sure you want to do that?" Lelouch had the appearance of a small, terrified child who was lost. He looked to the ground.

"Isn't this enough?" Lelouch asked quietly.

"Huh?" Mao asked.

"Please stop it, Mao." Lelouch begged in a soft voice.

"I can't hear you very well." Even if Rai couldn't see it, Rai would have definitely heard the smug smirk in Mao's voice.

"You've got everything you wanted, let Nunnally go!" Lelouch shouted, looking imploringly at Mao. Mao frowned for a moment.

"Aw?" Mao pouted, tilting his head to the side.

"I admit it," Lelouch whispered, looking sideways at the ground. "You have beaten me!" he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. Mao chuckled, which built up into a flat out fit of laughter as he clapped. He pointed with both hands together at Lelouch.

"Very well said, you finally speaking the thoughts from the deepest part of your soul! Huh?!" Mao exclaimed. Lelouch was biting his lower lip and quivering as Mao spoke. "That feels _great_! Fantastic! ...but no," Mao picked up one of his own pieces, making Lelouch gasp at him.

"Mao don't, please!" Rai pleaded. Mao glanced at Rai before placing the piece down somewhere else on the board.

"This is…" Mao paused. Lelouch looked horrified at Mao. "Checkmate." Mao picked up Lelouch's king, and tossed it onto his scale.

"Noooo!" Lelouch howled, sounding like a wounded animal. "…Nunnally…" Lelouch whispered as he fell backwards. He sat on the floor and stared up at the ceiling. Rai yelled out as well, running up to Mao, ready to attack him. Mao simply grabbed both of Rai's wrists with one hand and held the smaller male to him. Mao pulled out a small monitor. "Hm, let me see if she's burst into little pieces." He looked at the screen and let out a noise of surprise.

Mao looked more closely at the monitor while adjusting his grip on Rai so that his arm was around Rai's waist and pinning Rai's arms to his sides. He pressed the zoom on the monitor. Rai also looked and saw Nunnally was fine. "What?! Why is she…?!" Mao asked.

"Lelouch, she's okay!" Rai told him. Lelouch sighed in wonderful relief.

The noise of glass breaking flooded the church as someone jumped in through the window. Mao took a step back, holding Rai even tighter.

"How did you?! You kept me focused on you!" Mao snarled the accusation at Lelouch. Suzaku landed on his feet and turn immediately to Mao. Mao pulled out a gun, but Rai kicked him in the knee cap as hard as he could, causing Mao to let go of him and drop the gun. The moment Rai got away Suzaku swung his fist at Mao and connected. Mao's headphones and sunglasses flew off as he was hit. He landed on the ground. Rai picked up Mao's gun and trained it on the mind reader.

As Mao sat up, Suzaku stared down at him coldly.

"I am Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi of the Britannian Military. And _you_ are under arrest!" Suzaku said. Although his tone was even, there was an underlying anger in it.

"Suzaku…" Lelouch whispered in surprise. He was now standing

"You disarmed the bomb?" Mao asked in disbelief. "Impossible! You'd have matched you speed to the pendulum!"

"That's right." Suzaku said. "After Lelouch showed me with line to cut."

"I showed you?" Lelouch asked in a low voice. Suzaku looked back at him.

"What are you saying?" Suzaku asked. He went back to glaring at Mao. "It was your plan. Cut the line then bust in here when I heard you scream." Rai snickered at this.

"My plan?" Lelouch wondered. His eyes widened and then he pulled something out of his pocket. It was his cell phone, which had a reflective surface like a mirror. Lelouch looked far more confident now. "Mao, it seems it's _my _checkmate." Lelouch told Mao. Mao stood up slowly, and Suzaku got into a fighting stance as he did.

"Lelouch, don't tell me that you-." Mao growled. Lelouch smirked at him, but didn't say anything. However, he was _thinking _something. "That's ridiculous!" Mao gasped. Suzaku grabbed his arm. "You bet everything on one _friend_?! What if he failed you?" Suzaku pulled out his own cell phone.

"Sayoko, everything's fine now. Right. Go ahead." Suzaku spoke into the phone. On the forgotten monitor lying on the floor, the maid that always helped out with Nunnally appeared and untied Nunnally.

"You think you've beat me huh?" Mao hissed, taking a step towards Lelouch. Suzaku stopped him from getting closer.

"Stop it!" Suzaku ordered. Mao struggled.

"Get your hands off me, father killer!" Mao snarled. Suzaku let out a gasp and stared at Mao in terror. "You killed your own father seven years ago." Mao scoffed. "He called for do or die resistance, and you thought stopping him would end the war. What a childish idea! The fact is, you're a murderer!"

"That's not true!" Suzaku denied. "I just-I…"

"How lucky for you that no one ever found out, all the adults lied to protect you." Mao sneered.

"But his suicide was a protest against the military action." Lelouch said.

"All a big fat lie, all of it." Mao told Lelouch.

"A lie…" Lelouch whispered.

"I didn't have any choice!" Suzaku argued, looking at Lelouch. "If I didn't, Japan would've-."

"That's how you justify it in retrospect?" Mao butted in. "Well it explains your death wish!" Suzaku gasped. "You want to save people's lives?" Mao looked at Suzaku's hand on his arm. "It's your own wretched soul you're trying to save! That's why you're always charging into danger. Placing your self on the edge of death!" Suzaku started to hyperventilate, and let out a pained howl as he fell to his knees before Mao. "You're no hero; you're just trying to wash the blood off your hands!"

"Noooo…" Suzaku sobbed.

"A little brat begging to be punished!" Mao pried Suzaku's hand off his arm as he sneered this.

"Mao!" Lelouch growled in a voice that was almost inhuman. Mao looked to the young prince. He gasped and let go of Suzaku's hand. "Never speak again!" Lelouch used Geass on Mao.

"No!" Mao tried to cover his eyes, but it was too late. Rai rushed to Suzaku as Mao tried to speak, but couldn't. He was making odd choking-like sounds instead. Lelouch ran past Rai and Suzaku and tried to punch Mao. Mao dodged out of the way and ran for the exit.

"Mao!" Lelouch shouted. Rai turned from Suzaku, and in his kneeling position, fired the gun. It hit Mao in the shoulder.

Mao stumbled out into the daylight.

C.C. was standing in front of the church, a gun in her hand. She had a sorrowful look on her face.

"I did love you, Mao." She told Mao. Mao tried to talk again as he ran towards C.C. "Mao, I want you to go and wait for me. In 'C's' world. C.C. pressed the gun, which had a silencer on it, to Mao's neck. She shot him. Mao fell to the ground after making a strangled noise.

The door slid shut again.

Lelouch walked away from the altar, and then turned around to look at Suzaku.

Suzaku was still on his hands and knees, staring at the ground. Without thinking Rai pulled Suzaku into a hug, with Suzaku's head resting against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of Suzaku's head as he felt the other boy begin to shake. Tremors rattled Suzaku's body as he pressed against Rai.

"I just…I just…" Suzaku's voice was hoarse as he whispered. His hands gripped the front of Rai's uniform.

No one said anything for a long time.


	11. Side Story 1: Akuma the Hellhound

**A/N: This is just a side story. It isn't that important to the plot, but it does hint to the reason why Rai is in the Code Geass reality. The next chapter will be the main story. And since apparently today 's edit/preview document thing doesn't feel like letting me put in the breaks I usually do, it'll say stuff like ~insert location here~ instead. **

_This is so boring. _Rai groaned to himself. He sat with Tamaki, Kallen and the others inside the Black Knights headquarters. They were waiting for Zero's orders start on the mission. Tamaki and another Black Knight were looking up something on a laptop computer. Kallen was on the other side of the room watching the news.

Rai was lying on his back, taking up a good portion of the aquamarine couch he was sharing with Tamaki and someone else. Ohgi was off doing something else, so Rai couldn't harass him at the moment. Rai closed his eyes and just listened to the sounds around him, relaxing. Then suddenly-

"Yo, Akuma!" Tamaki yelled as he jabbed Rai's leg over and over. Rai opened his eye that wasn't covered by an eye patch and gave the man a lazy look.

"Hm?" Rai asked, raising his eye brows. Tamaki turned the laptop so that Rai could see it.

There was a still photograph of Rai in his 'Akuma' disguise, standing on top of a pile of rubble. He was covered in blood and ash, and was grinning at the camera like a maniac. His eye that wasn't covered was glowing in the light of the fire that roared all around him. Rai looked like a something that had walked out of hell.

The photo was part of a newspaper article that took up the front page. The caption under the photo read: _**This is a photo of one of the Black Knights; fittingly known was Akuma, Zero's Hellhound.**_

Rai blinked at the picture. He remembered that, it was a couple of weeks ago during one of their drug raids. One of the drug dealers had strapped a bomb to him self and blew up. Rai had been near him at the time, but was thankfully not caught in the blast. He was, however, coated in the man's blood by the blast. The explosion had also set off a fire. When Rai looked, he saw a Britannian with a profession photography camera standing off out of the way. The man had probably somehow heard the Black Knights were going to be there, and was taking pictures. Rai grinned at the man (who looked so scared that he might wet his pants) and then left when Zero called for him.

_Whoops…_Rai thought. "I'm not sure how to respond to that…" Rai admitted. Tamaki pouted and then turned the laptop back to him self so he could see the photo.

"You're famous, man! Mothers' are telling their children 'to eat their vegetables or else Akuma the Hellhound will come for them.'." Tamaki teased. "I'm jealous of you!" Kallen looked over at Tamaki skeptically.

"You're jealous of a guy that gives small children nightmares? What exactly are you aspiring to be?" Kallen inquired. Tamaki glared in a childish way at her.

"It's not that! It's just that Akuma and Zero are the only famous confirmed members of the Black Knights! Compared to them, the rest of us get no consideration!" Tamaki complained. Kallen rolled her eyes.

"I think that's a good thing." Kallen told him. "If people knew well enough how we all looked, then it'd be harder not to get caught by the police if one of us was just walking around." Tamaki frowned at this information.

"I guess you're right." Tamaki relented.

"With Zero it doesn't matter that everyone knows about him because he wears that mask." Rai pointed out.

"That means you're the only one who can't go out in public without worrying that someone might recognize you." Kallen observed. Rai gave her an evil grin before giggling.

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds like fun!" Although Rai said it like he meant it, he was thinking it sarcastically.

~Meanwhile, somewhere else~

Suzaku stared at the computer screen with mild disgust. Lloyd, Cecil, and Suzaku were looking through the recordings from the Lancelot, searching for anything about _that Knightmare_. Lloyd and Cecil wanted to see if there was anything else they could learn about it.

However…

"Well isn't that strange…" Lloyd murmured. Cecil looked up at him.

"Oh, what is?" She asked. Lloyd adjusted his glasses and then pointed at the screen.

"This guy, he's in quite a few of the recordings." Lloyd said. Suzaku looked at where he was pointing. A young man, one of the Black Knights, was riding on the shoulder of Zero's Knightmare. He was wearing their uniform, a mini-machinegun in one hand while he tried to hand on for dear life with the other. The young man had unnaturally dark blue hair with silver streaks, which was blowing around wildly in the wind. He had a medical patch covering his left eye. The eye that could be seen was blood red. He had a nasty scar going across his neck. The young man looked like some sort of demon. Especially with that feral looking grin on his face (which was actually Rai grimacing…but they didn't know that).

Lloyd typed something into one of his other computers. "Apparently his name is Akuma-no last name known-and is always around Zero. People online have been calling him 'Zero's hellhound', there's even a newspaper article with his picture in it." Lloyd told the others. "Oh well, since he has nothing to do with that one Knightmare, he's not important." Lloyd went back to going through the videos. Suzaku and Cecil share a glance, both knowing that Lloyd loses interest in things quickly unless it has to do with Knightmares.

"The police and the military have both sent out pictures of Akuma, but no one has seen this guy walking around. There are no records anywhere of an Akuma who fits that description. In fact, nobody had even heard of this guy until he suddenly showed up when the Black Knights introduced themselves at the hotel-jacking. It's as if this guy's a ghost." Cecil scanned through files on her computer that had to do with Akuma.

"Most likely it's a fake name. He's probably wearing a disguise as well." Suzaku hypothesized. Cecil nodded in agreement.

"That seems to be the most logical explanation. The police have been going through all the pictures of known terrorists, even ones who are presumed dead, and doing facial recognition scans to see if all of them have the same facial structure as Akuma. However, so far they haven't found anything." Cecil summarized what was in a certain document.

"With today's technology that's no surprise. Just about anyone can get a real-looking mask that makes you look like an entirely different person." Suzaku sighed. "They'll probably never find out who Akuma really is until he and the rest of those bastards have been brought to justice." Suzaku glared at the one computer screen that still had Akuma's image frozen on it.

(Miles away, Rai sneezed and began wondering if he might be catching a cold.)

"Yes well, let's get back to work shall we?" Lloyd interrupted the conversation.

As Suzaku helped Lloyd and Cecil, he continued to think about Akuma. He somewhat remembered seeing the young man on the battle field during different fights. Usually Akuma was either on the shoulder of Zero's Knightmare, or he was simply off on the side lines and observing the battle. Apparently Akuma couldn't pilot a Knightmare, but Suzaku couldn't be sure of that since he couldn't remember if he had seen Akuma at every battle. He thought it was actually strange that Akuma did very little fighting, although he was more active in the skirmishes than Zero. What was Akuma's role in the Black Knights? Was he really just Zero's dog, only doing what he was directly ordered to by his master? If Akuma couldn't pilot a Knightmare, then why wasn't he ever fighting alongside the other ground troops? Everything about Akuma confused Suzaku. He didn't know why he kept thinking about the 'Hellhound'. Suzaku had never even talked to the man before, let alone been less than ten yards away from him.

There was one thing that Suzaku couldn't put his finger on…For some strange reason, Akuma seemed strangely familiar. Suzaku wasn't sure what it was about the guy, but it was like Suzaku had seen him before.

But that didn't matter; soon all those terrorist scum would be locked away where they belonged. And Suzaku would do whatever it took to help make that happen.

~Back at the farm-er I mean Ashford Academy~

Lelouch actually had the nerve to chuckle at Rai. He was doing so because he had just looked at the picture of Rai that Tamaki had emailed him.

"Oh shut it!" Rai snapped irritably. He was sick of hearing about it. All of the Black Knights had been giving him trouble about it all day. Rai had to make some (not so very) fake threats about breaking peoples fingers if they didn't leave him alone.

Rai was sitting at the edge of the swimming pool, wearing swimming trunks but only kicking his feet lightly in the water since he didn't feel like going all the way into the water just yet. C.C. was on the (way too tall in Rai's opinion) high dive. Lelouch sat in a lounging chair, reclining and working on his laptop.

"Wow, 'Zero's Hellhound'. You're not just my dog, but a hound from _hell_. I wonder who thought that up." Lelouch seemed even more amused about the situation when he saw how annoyed Rai was getting.

"If you're behind this…" Rai growled. He gave the water a vicious kick, imagining that it was Lelouch's face.

"I assure you that I have nothing to do with your new…nickname." Lelouch chuckled again at the end of his sentence.

"Shut up." Rai grumbled. C.C. jumped off the diving board and slipped into the water with the grace of a swan. There was barely a ripple left in her wake.

When she surfaced, she looked at Rai expectantly. Rai thought for a moment. "Eh, an eight out of ten, because while it was well executed, I've already seen you do that a dozen times before." Rai told her. C.C. gave him a glare, and then swam back to the diving boards.

Lelouch rolled his eyes.

"You two get along rather nicely." He noticed. Rai shrugged. C.C. actually allowed a small smirk to appear before she spoke.

"Of course, there's no need to be mean to a dog." C.C. said. Rai shot her his own displeased glare along with a one fingered salute that seemed to mean the same thing no matter what reality a person was in. C.C. simply ignored the gesture. Lelouch looked thoughtful for a second, and then began to search something on his computer.

The only sounds were Lelouch typing, C.C.'s steps on the ladder of the high dive, and Rai splashing his feet in the water. Then Lelouch interrupted the quiet.

"It appears that both the military and the police are looking for 'Akuma'." Lelouch said. Rai scoffed lightly.

"_Really?_ I wouldn't have figured that out. I mean it's not like there's wanted posters of both Zero and Akuma all over the freaking city. Oh wait! There is." Rai said sarcastically. Lelouch simply smirked at him.

"Have you've been photographed at any point that you know of?" Lelouch asked. Rai tilted his head to the side as he thought about it. He looked like a curious puppy. Lelouch decided it would be best if he didn't comment on it. Rai might hit him.

"The only times I can think of are: when they were making my school ID card, and all of the times that Madam Prez and the others have taken pictures of our club activities. I'm sure that I'm on the security tapes of various stores and other places like that. Other than that I can't think of anything. I've never been arrested, nor have I done anything that would put be (as Rai) in the newspaper." Rai told Lelouch. "I doubt that they'll be able to make any connection between me and Akuma. They don't know that there are any students in the Black Knights so it's unlikely that they'll check any school pictures. Also I'm sure that the cops and the military are checking known terrorists and stuff first." _Not to mention that if they didn't notice that one of the Black Knights had dark red hair and there seems to be only one person in all of Area Eleven with that color hair…I mean come on, all Kallen does is wear a red band on her head and that's the only real difference in appearance. I think that this world is suffering from Superman syndrome*._ Rai didn't say this part out loud, but it made him certain that no one would figure out that Rai and Akuma was the same person.

"You should never assume such things." Lelouch chided Rai. "They might start looking at school pictures next if they can't find any leads."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Wear a mask like you? No thanks." Rai scoffed.

"Why are you so against that?" Lelouch asked.

"I can deal with being called your dog, however I would not be able to deal with being called your freaking shadow or copy cat or whatever else those goofs thought up." Rai explained. Lelouch stared at Rai over the top of his laptop.

"You'd rather risk the chance of being caught, than to be anything like me?" Lelouch questioned. If Rai didn't know any better, he would've sworn he heard a hint of hurt in Lelouch's voice. Good thing he knew better.

"Well yeah, 'I am what I am, and that's all that I am'." Rai quoted an old cartoon that he used to watch when he was in grade school. Lelouch looked at Rai like he lost a few of his marbles.

"…If you say so." Lelouch most likely had never heard that quote before.

"No, but Popeye does. He also eats spinach." Rai chirped. That earned Rai a very puzzled look from Lelouch.

C.C. jumped off the diving board. This time she did a series of complicated flips before easily slipping into the water. When she resurfaced Rai already had his rating. "A ten out of ten, that one was cool."

C.C. smirked smugly.

~Somewhere I don't want to be~

A dark laugh echoed throughout the even darker room. A teenage boy sat in a chair, with his feet propped on the desk and a laptop in his lap. He continued to laugh loudly about something on his computer screen.

The room he was in was on board the flying battle ship known as the _Avalon_. It was his quarters. When he first came aboard the ship, the room had been decorated in rich purples and dark blues. But after only a day later, the whole décor was altered. No one was sure how he did it, but no one asked either. Almost everyone who worked on board the _Avalon_ was afraid of this young man. There was something, well, _peculiar_ about him.

Now the walls of the room were blood red. The carpet was black, with odd designs in white that none of the others had ever seen before. The bed was covered with a black canopy, but there were lime green pillows and black blankets. The bed was up against the western wall. There was a bookcase on the northern wall along with a vanity. The mirror on the vanity had odd designs scribbled all over it just like the floor only in different colors. On the left side of the vanity was a door that led to the teenager's private bathroom. There was a dresser on the southern side of the room and on the right on it was a walk-in-closet. The desk at which the young man was sitting at was in the center of the room. It was made of some kind of rich, dark wood that he didn't know the name of. The chair he was sitting in was made of leather, or at least something similar to leather. The door that led out into the hall and the rest of the ship was on the eastern wall of the room.

That door opened, revealing a mildly amused man in his twenties or early thirties. The man had straw blonde hair that was kind of wavy. It barely reached the base of his neck, and mainly framed his face. His light blue eyes twinkled as he walked into the room. He wore a white coat that went down to his calves with the cuffs and lining being black and gold. The shoulders were gold as well. He wore a blue-violet jacket underneath it with had the same black and gold lining. Although his coat could not close, his jacket did. A white belt with gold curving lines was loosely hanging around his waist. He also wore a white ascot with a green jeweled pin keeping it in place. His pants were freakishly white without a speck of dirt on them and there were black scuff-less shoes on his feet.

The man's name was Schneizel El Britannia.

"What are you laughing so hard about?" Schneizel asked his guest. The teenager stopped laughing, gasping slightly for air.

"Oh nothing, nothing, just this news article I found. One of the Black Knights is being called 'Zero's Hellhound'." The young man explained. Schneizel raised an eyebrow at him.

"How is that so funny?" Schneizel wondered. The young man flashed a mischievous grin.

"I know a person back home who was called 'Cerberus'. He was basically a hall monitor and would guard the gate to make sure no one would sneak out of school during club time. So everyone teased him, saying that he 'guarded the gates of Hades, making sure no one got in, or out'." The teenager said. Schneizel walked around the desk and peered at the computer screen.

"Do you think it's the same person?" Schneizel asked. The young man jeered at that.

"There's no way that Rai." He said. "Rai is a complete and utter goody-goody. He would never purposely cause harm to others. Hell, he got suspended for saving the freshman class from a demon that a student had summoned for his senior project. Rai was lucky that he didn't get expelled for doing something so dumb."

Schneizel gave him a skeptical look.

"This Rai person, almost got expelled for _saving_ _students_?" Schneizel inquired.

"Of course! At Lucifer's All Boys Academy, the students are encouraged to lie, cheat, steal, and do basically anything and everything immoral. Not only does Rai always do the opposite of that, but he also completely ignores the hierarchy of the student body! He constantly refuses to do as our King commands." The young man complained.

"King?" Schneizel repeated.

"At Lucifer's All Boys Academy, we have a social pyramid of sorts. At the very top is a boy named Derrick, and he's a year older than Rai and I. He is the richest and most powerful person in our whole school. His parents basically own the majority of the world, and whatever they don't own, it's only because they haven't bought it yet. We call Derrick our King, and everyone in the school has to follow his orders, which is something Rai refuses to do."

"And the school officials accept this?" Schneizel found this interesting it seemed.

"They're on the pay roll of Derrick's father. It was one of his ancestors who founded the school a hundred and fifty years ago." The young man said. Schneizel smiled at the picture of Akuma on the computer screen.

"So you're certain that Rai could in no way possibly be Akuma." Schneizel confirmed. The young man nodded. "But you still believe that Rai is somewhere in this reality? What if he was transported somewhere else?"

"There's no way that could've happened. The spell that brought me here was also aimed at Rai. Is was supposed to bring us to this specific universe." The young man argued.

"And you're still going to try and find him?" Schneizel asked.

"I have to, my orders were to watch Rai and see if the other spell that was casted on him is working properly."

"And yet you lost him the moment you came here." Schneizel teased. The young man glared darkly at the prince.

"That was simply a miscalculation. We 'appeared' in different places. I landed in the throne room, while Rai landed who knows where." The young man huffed.

"I don't see why you're having such a hard time finding him." Schneizel thought it was cute how the teenager looked when he was mad about something, so the prince couldn't help but push his buttons.

"I found a vague report about some strange boy being found in Area Eleven. But for some reason I can't find anything else about it. The boy wasn't named; it doesn't even say where the boy was taken or where he is now. It's like someone is trying to hide him. I'm certain the boy is Rai, and he's in Area Eleven. But I don't know where. I've searched list of students in schools, people his age in jail, everything I can, but I have found neither hide nor hair of him. The only thing I can think of is actually going from city to city and searching everywhere, but that would take too long." The young man told Schneizel, growling slightly in frustration. The teenager groaned suddenly, and rubbed the back of his neck.

Schneizel got an idea. He went and stood behind the teenage boy and lightly rested his hands on the young man's shoulders. Schneizel bent over and nuzzled his neck.

"How you take a break for the rest of the day, and try again tomorrow with a refresh set of eyes." Schneizel said, nipping at the other's collarbone. The young man smirked and tilted his head to reveal more of his neck. He made a pleased noise.

"Ah, and what do you suggest that I do for the rest of the day?" the young man asked. The second prince of Britannia smirked as well before lightly tugging on the young man's black school uniform jacket with red stitching and leaning him to the bed.

"Oh, I can think of a few things." Schneizel whispered sensually.

**A/N: *You know how no one in the Superman series seems to figure out that Clark Kent is Superman? And the only thing that is different about his appearance is that he wears glasses! **

**Message me or review if you have an idea of a side story that you would like to see!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry I kind of disappeared for a bit there, I was really busy with other stuff and was having trouble remembering what I wanted to happen next in this story. Oh by the way I'm looking for a beta for any of my stories. Please message me if you're interested. Thanks to cuppycakesprincess and PagniniGirl. **

To Rai it felt as if they had been sitting in the church for ages. For the longest time the only sound that could be heard was Suzaku's labored breathing. Rai knew what was coming next and felt anxious waiting for Lelouch to speak. Finally, Lelouch turned around.

"Suzaku, what Mao said," Lelouch looked at his best friend. Suzaku didn't say anything; it was as if he hadn't heard Lelouch. "Did you do it? Did you kill your own father?" Suzaku gasped, his grip on Rai's shirt grew tighter. Rai gave Lelouch a warning glare as he rubbed Suzaku back in comforting circles. Suzaku looked up at Lelouch in fear. "I see…it's not just your secret is it?"

"Lelouch…I…" Suzaku turned his gaze to the floor.

"Kirihara." Lelouch said suddenly. "I think that was the old man's name." Rai rolled his eyes, calling bullshit on Lelouch's supposed uncertainty. "He claimed that Prime Minister Kururugi killed himself in order to stop all of those in his cabinet who called for 'do or die resistance'. The story was a necessary one, for Japan-and Britannia." Lelouch told Suzaku. Suzaku relaxed slightly.

"…Thank you for that." Suzaku said to Lelouch. Suzaku moved out of Rai's embraced and stood up. Rai stood as well, shifting his feet in an uneasy way. He jolted a bit when Suzaku ruffled his hair a bit. "And thanks, Rai." Rai couldn't help but blush a bit at that. Personally he didn't think he helped very much.

~Later~

Rai almost laughed out loud as he sat in the classroom and watched everyone sketch Lelouch. Anime characters drawing a 'realistic' portrait of another anime character, there was just something oddly amusing about it. Rivalz leaned over and snickered at Rai's sketch.

"_That's _supposed to be Lelouch?" Rivalz ask, disbelieving. Although Rai was good at writing and love it, he was terrible at drawing or any other kind of art. Rai's sketch of Lelouch was a stick figure with messy looking hair. Suzaku looked at it and tried not to smile.

"At least the expression's accurate." Suzaku said. Rai had simply drawn a (sort of) straight line for Lelouch's mouth. Rai glared at the two boys as they both laughed.

"Oh shut up." Rai grumbled. Lelouch looked up at the commotion, causing everyone (who was actually trying to draw him) to groan in annoyance.

"Come on Lelouch, quit moving around will ya!" Rivalz scolded him. Lelouch blinked as if he just remembered where he was.

"Oh, sorry guys." Lelouch apologized. He tried to get back into the position he was in before.

"No, your sight line was lower" Rivalz corrected. Lelouch lowered his gaze.

"Like this?" He asked, his voice muffled by the hand he was resting his chin on.

"Too far, a little higher." Rivalz told him.

"Good?" Lelouch asked as he moved again. Rivalz growled in aggravation. Rivalz stood and walked up to Lelouch.

"Now your expression's totally different from when we started." Rivalz complained. Rai chuckled.

_Lelouch is terrible at this._ Rai thought, smiling a bit. When Rivalz was done correcting Lelouch, Lelouch had a cheesy smile on his face and looked like a complete dork. This time while everyone else was complaining at Rivalz, Rai really did laugh out loud. Nina walked into the room just then. When she asked about math class, Shirley reminded her that it was Art Week.

"Hey Rai, if all you're going to do is laugh at me, why do you come up here and model for everyone?" Lelouch asked, giving Rai an annoyed look. Rai grinned at the young prince.

"And let your fan girls miss such a wondrous opportunity? I couldn't do that!" Rai said. The other guys in the room laughed, while the girls told Rai to shut up.

~Da-da-da-da-da-da~

Rai walked down the street humming happily to himself later that afternoon. He had just come back from one of his favorite book stores. His arms were full of bags with books. Lately Lelouch had been paying him a bit of money, most likely because of how Rai had been complaining about not being able to buy enough books. Now Rai's only problem was where he was going to put all of his books.

"Rai?" someone called to him. Rai looked up ahead and saw Suzaku standing next to Cecile. "What are you doing here?" Suzaku asked. The two of them were standing next to a giant transport vehicle. Rai smiled and lifted his arms slightly to show the books he was carrying. Cecile blinked in surprise while Suzaku chuckled. "Why and I not surprised?" Rai stuck his tongue out at him.

"Hello, I'm Cecile Croomy. I work with Suzaku." Cecile said as she held out her hand. She was a very pretty woman with blue-gray eyes and medium-length dark blue hair. Cecile was wearing a burnt orange and black military uniform with a white dress shirt and a green tie underneath it. She was wearing knee-high black boots.

"Why are you two standing out there?" Lloyd poked his head out of the vehicle. When he saw Rai, he stepped out and studied the boy. Lloyd was a tall man with light blue-purple-ish medium-length hair. His light blue eye glinted behind his rounded rectangular glasses. At the moment he was wearing a white lab coat with a green armband on his left upper arm. There was what looked like a green turtle-neck underneath the coat. His boots where long and black. "Hm, are you a friend of Kururugi's?" Lloyd asked. Rai nodded.

"I'm Bakura, Rai. And you are?" Rai introduced himself.

"I'm Asplund, Lloyd." Lloyd then noticed the books Rai was carrying. One of them caught his interest. It was the book about learning about piloting a Knightmare. "You're interested in Knightmares?" Lloyd inquired, picking up a different book-this one was about Knightmare designs. Rai smiled nervously.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about maybe joining the military once I'm done with school." Rai lied. "Being a Knightmare Pilot sounds interesting." _Also I'm sick of handing on for life on the shoulder of Lelouch's damn Knightmare. At least if I'm piloting one, I will be less likely to be _stepped_ on. _Lloyd opened the book and read something then turned to Rai. He leaned in close as he looked at Rai. The look in his eyes made Rai a little uneasy. Lloyd reached out and lightly lifted Rai's chin with his fingers. He moved Rai's head to one side and then to the other.

"Uh Lloyd, what are you doing?" Suzaku asked obviously confused. Lloyd continued to examine Rai for a moment, he then released Rai's chin and stepped away.

"Interesting…" Lloyd muttered to himself. Suddenly he smiled at Rai. "Sorry about that, it's just that you look like someone I've seen pictures of." Rai felt a cold chill run down his spine.

_Shit, what if he saw a picture of me as 'Akuma'? That's not good-not good at all. …Maybe he talking about someone else-maybe I look like someone who actually belongs in this reality. Even if he is referring to 'Akuma' I shouldn't let him see me panic about it._ "That is interesting." Rai agreed, hoping that his voice didn't sound shaky. Lloyd continued to smile.

"Would you like to come with us?" Lloyd offered, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Really?" Rai asked. He looked at Suzaku and Cecile who were staring at Lloyd.

"Of course! It's not as if you'd be in the way or anything, plus I get to show off the Lancelot to someone who's _not_ in the military-at least not yet." Lloyd said. This puzzled Rai. From what Rai remembered of the show, Lloyd didn't seem like the kind of person who necessarily cared if anyone actually saw his work. He only appeared to care about making an insanely powerful Knightmare.

"Sure, I guess…" Rai agreed, unsurely. As he walked with Suzaku into transport Cecile took the book that Lloyd had been reading.

"Where did you get this book?" She asked as she opened it.

"A used books store, why?" Rai looked over her shoulder. On the inside cover of the book was 'This book is the property of Rakshata Chawla.' written in curvy letters with purple ink. _Ah…well that might explain it…_ Rai frowned at Cecile. "Is 'Rakshata' an old friend of Lloyd or something?" Cecile smiled as she gave Rai back the book.

"Something like that." She said.

"It's clear from your vacant expressions; the lights are not all on upstairs. But we're talking kings and successions-." Rai pulled out his phone and answer it.

"Hello-." Rai tried to say.

"Where are you?" Lelouch demanded. The tone of his voice made Rai bristle a bit.

"What are you, my mother? I'm with a friend." Rai told him.

"Who-never mind, it doesn't matter, you need to get back here now." Lelouch ordered.

"I can't." Rai glanced at Suzaku and Cecile, who were watching Rai curiously.

"What do you mean 'I can't'?" Lelouch asked in annoyance. Rai sighed, not knowing how to say it without sounding suspicious. Then he got an idea.

"I'll be back." Rai told Suzaku and Cecile. He walked a little distance away, and then whispered into the phone. "I can't because the people I'm with right now are in the military. I just agreed to go somewhere with them. Don't you think it'd look strange if I suddenly back out after getting a phone call?"

"And you say I'm paranoid? Do they even suspect you?" Lelouch asked.

"One of them told me that I looked like someone that they had seen pictures of. I believe that he's talking about Akuma." Rai explained.

"You believe? This is ridiculous." Lelouch snapped.

"But better be safe than sorry, right?" Rai countered. Now it was Lelouch's turn to sigh.

"Alright, I suppose you can be absent for this one." Lelouch relented.

"'Kay, thanks, bye." Rai said. He hung up on Lelouch.

"Who was that?" Suzaku asked.

"That was a classmate I knew from back when I was living in Britannia." Rai lied. "He somehow got a hold of my number and wanted to know how I was doing. I swear sometimes it sounds like he's interrogating me instead of just asking me things." Suzaku and Cecile believed him.

"Well, we better be off." Cecile said. The three of them got into the transport vehicle.

~Later~

Lloyd looked like a kicked puppy when the man put down another document for the earl to sign. He looked up at the man imploringly.

"You need my signature again?" Lloyd asked. Apparently he really didn't care for things like this.

"Even though Princess Cornelia ordered this, there are still some formalities that need to be followed. A change of executioners is the most exceptional of circumstances." The man explained. Suzaku was staring off into space, his hands clutched in his lap. Rai tried to comfort him by putting a hand on Suzaku's shoulder.

_What the hell is Cornelia thinking? The only reason I can think of is that she's testing Suzaku, either that or she just a total bitch-._ Rai jumped when they all heard an explosion.

"W-what was that?" The man exclaimed, looking around. There were sirens and as Rai turned to the window he saw fire rising up the sky. "What happened?"

"Good, now we're free of the hellish paperwork." Lloyd said. Rai laughed, unable to help himself. From the window they could see the Black Knights' Knightmares attacking. Suzaku jumped off the couch as if he had been pricked on the butt with a sharp needle. He sprinted as fast as he could out of the room.

"Where's he going?" Rai asked. Lloyd walked closer to the window.

"Probably to go play 'hero' again." Lloyd said. Rai and Cecile followed him to the window. Within minutes the Lancelot was speeding out onto the battlefield. Lloyd pulled out a golden pair of binoculars with a stick on attached to it so that he could hold it up with one hand. "Oh my, aren't those new enemy models amazing." He said as he looked through them. Lloyd then held the binoculars away from his face. "However, Miss Cecile," Cecile looked to her boss.

"In hindsight, it's certainly quite fortunate that the Lancelot's trailer is our main source of transportation." Lloyd said.

"No, it's because you spent our entire budget on the Lancelot itself-that's hindsight." Cecile corrected him. Rai snickered at that.

Suddenly, it was as if the enemy (well actually it was the side Rai was aligned with but no one needed to know that) could read Suzaku's moves. One Knightmare knocked the gun off of the Lancelot. When Suzaku retreated, another came from behind and sliced through the cockpit, revealing Suzaku.

"Damn it, he doesn't have an ejection block!" Lloyd exclaimed, leaning with a hand on the window. Rai gasped in worry, even though he already knew what was going to happen.

"What you mean we didn't install one?" Cecile exclaimed.

"That's something you really shouldn't forget about!" Rai's voice went up an octave or two as he said it. Slowly, Suzaku turned the Lancelot to the enemy. He lifted his head and showed his face. Rai bit his lip, knowing how Lelouch, Kallen, and Tohdoh were feeling right now. Right now, Lelouch was probably the one who felt the most betrayed.

With only a moment's hesitation, Suzaku charged toward the Knightmare in front of him. The cockpit opened and it was Tohdoh who was piloting it. They were locked for a while, talking to each other. Suddenly they pulled away from each other, Suzaku then chased Tohdoh. The other Knightmares began to circle around the Lancelot. Lloyd at some point had pulled out a headset communicator.

"Kururugi release the hearken-booster, quickly!" Lloyd ordered. He was sweating quite a bit. "The password's my favorite food!" Rai blinked at him.

Grappling-hook like things (Which must have been the hearken-boosters) shot out and hit the Knightmares, knocking their weapons away. Suzaku threw the Lancelot's sword and hit one of the Knightmares.

Tohdoh's Knightmare suddenly fled. Suzaku tried to follow him, but all of the enemy Knightmares were blowing a smokescreen. The reinforcements were flying towards the battle. Suzaku stopped the Lancelot and stood watching as the Black Knights disappeared.

Rai cell phone rang.

"Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead. Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed. Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. She's gone where the goblins go, Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out." Rai pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open.

"Hey Cindy!" Rai said.

"…Cindy?" C.C. asked.

"Yeah." Rai replied. He didn't want Lloyd or Cecile to get suspicious about why he knew someone named C.C.

"Where are you?" C.C. wanted to know.

"I'm hanging out with Suzaku and a couple of coworkers of his." Rai explained.

"…I see. Get back to the school quickly; Lelouch wants to speak with you." C.C. told him.

"Why are you calling me if he's the one who wants to talk?" Rai wanted to know. That's when he noticed the strange laughing that was in the background of C.C. side.

"He's…a little busy at the moment. Go to Lelouch's room when you get back on campus." C.C. ordered. Rai grumbled darkly under his breath. It was going to be a pain trying to sneak around when his ride home happened to be Suzaku.

"Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can." Rai said. He closed his phone. Lloyd looked at Rai.

"I never heard of that song, the one that was playing on your phone." Lloyd told him.

"Ah, that's because a friend of mine made it up." Rai lied. Lloyd had a curious expression on his face.

"Is that you singing?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes." Rai said. That was true. Since there wasn't any recording of the songs Rai was using for ringtones, Rai sung them himself. He wasn't the best singer, but he wasn't painful to listen to either. One of his mother's ex-boyfriends once told Rai that if he would practice at it, he would sound really good, but singing wasn't something Rai was very interested in.

"I see." Lloyd said.

"Anyway, let's get going." Cecile told the two males in the room. The three of them left and after meeting up with Suzaku, drove the two students back to Ashford Academy.

~Aboard the _Avalon_~

Scott Monroe grinned in an almost evil way.

"Yes, that's most helpful. Thank you Asplund-san." Scott placed the phone back into the cradle on his desk. Scott then turned to the computer and typed something into the search engine.

Prince Schneizel entered the room.

"Did you find him?" Schneizel asked as he approached the teenager. Scott didn't say anything at first because he was reading something on his computer. When he was finished, Scott began chuckling.

"I found him alright. I wasn't looking at private schools or anywhere like Ashford Academy before because I didn't think that even Rai would be able to con his way into a place like that-oh now _that's_ interesting." Scott grinned at something. Schneizel raised an eye brow.

"Care to share?" Schneizel asked.

"Apparently Rai's been telling people that his last name was 'Bakura'. Rai's actual last name is Winston." Scott told Schneizel.

"So he's being trying to hide?" Schneizel asked. Scott shook his head.

"No, if he was actually trying to hide, he'd be at a poorer school, or in the military also Rai would have used an entirely fake name. Bakura is the name of a character in a show that Rai likes back home. He probably thought it'd be a flag and that I'd find him that way." Scott explained.

"Then why didn't he just use his real last name?" Schneizel leaned on the desk and looked at the computer screen as he spoke. Scott scoffed.

"Because Rai thinks it's funny to make things difficult for people. He most likely wanted it to be obvious, but not something that I would first think of." Scott said.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Schneizel asked. Scott thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"Ashford Academy…Well if Rai's _there_ then he's doing something. I don't want to ruin his fun just yet, so I won't actually show myself until the right time. For now I'll leave him alone and only observe." Scott concluded.


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Whoops I forgot to thank a bunch of people in the last chapter! Thank you Frieda, Bright Blade7, Mangakitty222333, TwistedInferno, naru-chan 92, Kittyket, Lucinda-Chan, Eduardo, and Flying Phoenix! **

Rai entered Lelouch's room, closing the door softly as to not make any noise. He looked at the bed and saw Lelouch sitting on the edge of it, facing the door.

"C.C. said that you wanted to talk to me?" Rai asked. Lelouch didn't say anything at first, he just sat there. Rai walked closer to Lelouch. "Lelouch?" Rai said, trying to get the boy's attention. Rai reached out to grab Lelouch's shoulder. Suddenly Lelouch snatched Rai's wrist and pulled him onto the bed. Rai let out a surprised yelp. Lelouch looked at Rai, who was now sprawled next to him on the bed.

"You were with Suzaku tonight." It wasn't a question. Rai sat up and tried to yank his arm out of Lelouch's grip, but it didn't work.

"His boss invited me to go with them." Rai told Lelouch. Lelouch's grip on Rai's wrist grew tighter.

"So you knew?" Lelouch asked in a quiet voice. Rai frowned at him.

"Knew what?" Rai asked. Lelouch gritted his teeth.

"Don't give me that crap!" Lelouch growled. "You knew that Suzaku was piloting that white Knightmare!" Lelouch accused. "Why didn't you tell me?" Rai glared at Lelouch, feeling angry.

"For one, Lelouch, I didn't know until tonight that Suzaku was piloting that Knightmare-so don't you _dare_ get upset with me about that! Also, I might work for you, but that doesn't give you the right to demand to know where I am every part of the day! I'm allowed to have my privacy damn it! I'm not your slave!" Rai snapped. Lelouch's expression darkened even more. Rai guessed as to what Lelouch was thinking and immediately closed his eyes and turned his head away from Lelouch. Then Lelouch tackled Rai. Rai struggled to get Lelouch off of him, but it's difficult to fight someone off if your eyes are shut. Lelouch grabbed Rai's head with both hands and forced it in Lelouch's direction.

"Look at me!" Lelouch demanded. Rai bared his teeth at Lelouch.

"No!" Rai snarled. He tried to swing his fist at Lelouch. Lelouch straddled Rai, and then grabbed both of Rai's wrists and pinning them to the bed on either side of Rai's head. Rai turned his now free head away from Lelouch.

"Rai-." Lelouch growled. There was the sound of a door opening.

"…What are you two doing?" C.C. asked calmly. Judging by how her voice sounding muffled, C.C. was most likely eating pizza.

"I-it's not what it looks like." Lelouch assured her, stuttering a bit at first. C.C. made a disbelieving noise.

"No really, he's trying to use Geass on me." Rai told her.

"And we wouldn't be in this position if you'd just let me." Lelouch argued, now talking to Rai.

"Like hell I'm going to let you brainwash me!" Rai scoffed. C.C. sighed at them.

"Boys…" It sounded like she was walking to the closet where she slept. Rai suddenly wondered what was up with anime boys hiding anime girls in their closets. Lelouch apparently returned his attention to Rai.

"Look, all I'm going to do is ordered you to not keep secrets or lie to me." Lelouch told Rai. Rai sneered at him.

"Oh? _That's_ _all_? Now I'm really not going to open my eyes." Rai squirmed a little on the bed, deciding that if he was going to be stuck there all night, he might as well make himself comfortable. Lelouch froze above him for second.

"Why won't you let me?" Lelouch asked. "If you've been telling the truth all this time, then it shouldn't be a problem."

"That's just it Lelouch, _I_ have a problem with it. Why does it bother you that I don't want you to know every single thing about me?" Rai retorted.

"That's because I don't-I have not knowing what to expect from you. I hate not knowing what someone is capable of…like how I didn't know that Suzaku was-." Lelouch tried to explain.

"Lelouch, not everyone is a chess piece on a board." Rai interrupted him. "People are naturally unpredictable creatures. You can never truly know what someone is capable-hell half the time they don't even know what they can do. Lelouch," Rai paused before continuing. "I know that it frustrates you. How I know about you, even when no one else in the world (not counting the immortal witch in the closet over there) knows. But please, just trust me okay? I'm not going to rat you out to anyone. If I was going to do that, I would have done so ages ago. I'm not going to betray you, I swear on my own life." Rai promised.

There was silence for a while. Rai took a chance and opened one eye cautiously. Lelouch was watching him carefully. Rai opened his other eye as well and stared up at Lelouch. Slowly, Lelouch smiled. "Good, now that we have that all ironed out, could you get off of me?" Rai asked. Lelouch blinked like he completely forgot that he was looming over the other boy. Lelouch quickly released Rai and rolled off of him. Rai let out a breath in relief. "Oh and Lelouch?" Rai called for the prince's attention again. Lelouch looked at him. "If you ever try that again, I'll kick your ass." Rai warned him. Lelouch laughed as though Rai was kidding…which he wasn't.

~Time Skip~

Rai stood next to Rakshata. He couldn't believe that they were in a submarine, thankfully the submarine wasn't submerged. Rai didn't feel comfortable with the idea of being underwater. At the moment Zero was making some big speech to everyone, but Rai wasn't listening. At least that is until he heard Zero talk about him.

"-And Akuma will be-." Zero was about to say something.

"Whatever I want to be at that every split second." Rai interrupted. Everyone looked at him. Zero nodded.

"Of course. That it all." Zero finished. Tamaki shouted happily about his job.

"Zero, may I add something?" Diethard spoke up. Everyone looked to him. "There is still one issue that still needs to be dealt with." Rai scowled, knowing what 'Diethard the Retard' was going to say. Zero dismissed the other troops, all except Ohgi, Todo, Rakshata, Diethard, and Rai. They waited until they were off of the sub and back at the mobile headquarters before listening to Diethard. "Suzaku Kururugi. He has become a focal point for Elevens who are Britannian supporters. I recommend he be assassinated." Zero looked at him.

"Assassinate him?" Zero asked.

"He may be right; you've been the focus of the resistance movement, the servile masses lack such a hero." Rakshata observed.

"People aren't moved by ideology alone, but the Britannians will hold this boy up as a symbol." Diethard continued. "I think that taking him out would be the smart decision right now."

"I object." "That's the stupidest thing I've heard come out of your mouth Diethard." Both Todo and Rai spoke at the same time. Todo looked at Rai, who then motioned for him to speak first.

"The Japanese would be revolted by such a cowardly act." Todo said.

"It would merely pit them against us." Rai added.

"Yeah, and the Black Knights are not in the business of killing the defenseless either!" Ohgi agreed. "What do you want us to do? Get him while he's alone and kill him straight out?"

"Calm down." Diethard said. "I'm only suggesting that we minimize our risk in the most efficient way possible. But it's Zero's call of course.

~Later~

Lelouch, C.C. and Rai were sitting in Lelouch's office in the mobile headquarters. Rai sat solving a crossword puzzle in a book he had bought that was full of different kinds of word puzzles on one side of the couch while C.C. was lying on the adjacent part of the couch. Lelouch was sitting at his desk, a chess set on the desktop. He turned a black chess piece over in his fingers as he thought.

"What's the problem? Just use your Geass on Kururugi." C.C. told Lelouch.

"He better not." Rai warned, even though he knew that Lelouch would be using Geass on Suzaku soon.

"Drop it." Lelouch said coldly.

"So stubborn," C.C. sighed. "Why not, because he's your friend, or is it pride?" Lelouch turned to her and glared. He paused and then turned back to the chess piece in his hand.

"All of it." Lelouch said.

"You might have to kill him otherwise." C.C. said. Lelouch made a frustrated noise.

"There's rarely a 'have to' when it comes to killing." Rai argued. C.C. looked as if she was going to retort.

"Give it a rest you two." Lelouch ordered.

~The next day~

"Okay guys, time to raise a glass to Kururugi here!" Rivalz exclaimed, tossing a bottle of what Rai hoped was orange juice from one hand to the other. "Valued member of the Student Council and Knight of the Round," Rivalz poured Suzaku a glass. "Now let's get this party started huh!" Everyone cheered in agreement, many raising their glasses to Suzaku. Rai looked around, trying to think of a way out of being at this party. As happy as he was for Suzaku, Rai couldn't help the fact that he was bored. Rai was honestly glad that Suzaku was now Euphemia's knight. And Rai silently swore to himself that he would do everything he could to make sure the princess would meet the fate that she's supposed to.

As Rai tried to sneak out, he came face to face with Lloyd. Nina was standing next to Lloyd.

"Ah, Hiya Lloyd." Rai greeted as he took a step back.

"Hello Rai, do you know where Kururugi is?" Lloyd asked. Rai pointed to the center of the party, where Suzaku was. "Bad news Suzaku," Lloyd said loud enough for him to be heard across the room. "You just got even more work to do I'm afraid."

"Oh, right." Suzaku said, everyone was looking in their direction now. Milly walked up to them.

"Lloyd, is something wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, do you guys know each other?" Nina asked.

"We're to be married." Lloyd said nonchalantly. There was a collective gasp by the students. "Isn't that right, Honeybunch?" Lloyd asked, sounding bored.

"Uh, yeah." Milly said, looking at the other students uncertainly.

"Honeybunch? Is she your fiancée or a box of cereal?" Rai asked. Lloyd chuckled at that. Rivalz came running out of the crowd.

"Whoa-whoa, what's going on here?" Rivalz demanded. He glared at Lloyd. "Who is this guy?" Rivalz asked Milly in a whisper.

"Earl Asplund." Milly told him.

"Earl?" Rivalz squeaked. He turned to Lloyd for a moment. "It's an honor your lordship." Then Rivalz turned back to Milly. Lloyd didn't seem to be remotely bothered by how Rivalz was acting. "Now, w-what did you say your relationship," Rivalz looked at Lloyd again. "was again?"

"She and I are betrothed." Lloyd told Rivalz. Rai covered his ears, knowing exactly what was going to happen next.

"Nooo!" Rivalz howled in pain, stumbling away from them.

"You were serious then?" Nina asked as they watched Rivalz. Suzaku chose this time to walk towards the small group that was by the door.

"So, do I have military duties then?" Suzaku asked Lloyd.

"Yes, a rather important someone or other is arriving by boat. We're off to meet him, along with the Lancelot and Princess Euphemia, naturally." Lloyd said, smiling. All of the girls in the room squealed. Rai noticed the look on Lelouch's face.

_And the Black Knights will be dropping by, of course._ Rai complained in his mind.

"Oh Rai," Lloyd said. Rai looked at him. "You can come with us if you want." Lloyd offered.

"Really, again?" Rai asked.

"Sure, you don't have anything better to do, do you?" Lloyd asked. Rai glanced at Lelouch, who shook his head in a movement that way barely noticeable. Assuming that it meant that Rai should say that he had plans, Rai smiled at Lloyd.

"No, I don't have anything important to do today." Rai said.

~Later~

Rai stood with Cecile, Suzaku, and Lloyd on the bridge of the military ship they were on. There was a beeping noise from Rai's cell phone indicating he got a text message. He was surprised that his phone even worked this far out to see. Rai opened the phone and grinned at the message.

**What happened to all that stuff you were saying about 'never betraying me'?** It was from Lelouch. Rai texted him back.

**All of it is still true. I said I'd never betray you, I didn't say anything about never doing things just to annoy you.** Rai replied. A few moments later came more beeping.

**You really think it's funny to be a pain in my ass don't you? **Lelouch asked.

**Yes, yes I do.** Rai turned his phone off after texting back.

"You don't know either?" Suzaku asked Cecile. Rai blinked. Apparently they had been talking while Rai was annoying Lelouch.

"Ditto." Lloyd said.

"You still shouldn't have said anything." Cecile scolded. "After all, your loose lips got our plans leaked onto the net."

"That girl was so charming though, I could resist." Lloyd said, still smiling.

"…Maybe all of this is a trap." Rai said. The others looked at him. "Well, if we're going somewhere far off where there's less security on purpose, with not only the Lancelot, but a princess as well, to meet someone who is supposedly very important." Rai shook his head. "It all smells like a trap to me."

"A trap for whom, I wonder." Lloyd said.

"The Black Knights, obviously." Rai told him.

"Why do you think the Black Knights?" Suzaku asked.

"Because, you're the guy who's been there to put a wrench in their plans almost every time they've appeared somewhere. Princess Euphemia is a princess of the Britannian Empire, of which Zero has practically declared war against. If both of you are going somewhere that isn't easy to protect to meet someone who's of some sort of importance-." Rai explained.

"It'd all be too good for Zero to ignore." Cecile finished for Rai. Rai nodded.

"Well, then I will do my best to help with this trap." Suzaku said with determination.

"Suzaku, you have to be very careful okay. You're the bait in this trap, and I have a feeling that whoever thought up this plan doesn't care if you survive it." Rai warned. Suzaku smiled kindly at him.

"Thanks Rai, but don't worry about me too much okay? I am a soldier and sometimes that means sacrificing your life in order to-." Suzaku tried to say more but Rai stopped him.

"I don't care about what it means to be a soldier. There's a fine line between sacrificing yourself for the greater good and just throwing your life away at the snap of some stupid higher ranked bastard's fingers-no offense meant to you two of course." Rai said, motioning to Lloyd and Cecile during the last part. They simply smiled.

~Once they got on the island~

"Arrival time is right on schedule." A soldier told them. Rai felt extremely nervous. He was standing only a foot away from a member of_ royalty_!

Princess Euphemia was just so _pretty_; she looked just like how a fairytale princess did. Her long pink hair with part of it in buns on the side of her head glinted in the sunlight. Her eyes were light blue and warm. She was wearing a pure white and light pink dress. With two armbands and a collar that were pink and each had a pink rose on them. "We've prepared a room back at headquarters-if you care to wait there." The soldier continued.

"Is it safe to assume that the ship is docking here?" Euphemia asked.

"Yes." The soldiered answered. "That hasn't changed."

"This will do fine then." Euphemia said, smiling.

"Very well, I'll just arrange for an escort-." The soldier paused as he heard something in his headset. They could hear explosions in the distance. The soldier jogged back to the jeep that had other soldiers in it. They whispered amongst themselves. "Headquarts appears to be under some sort of attack." He told them.

"Really? Cause I totally can't see the smoke and fire coming from that direction." Rai muttered sarcastically. Suzaku elbowed him sharply for that.

"We'll withdraw to the settlement." Cecile said. "Can you arrange an escort unit for her?" Cecile asked the soldiers, referring to Euphemia. Euphemia looked at her worriedly.

"It's too risky to leave right now. There's jamming us with some kind of wide interference." The soldier replied.

"You're going to be fine." Suzaku said to Euphemia. "Don't worry Princess, I won't let any harm come to you."

"No Suzaku, you should help these men fight off the attack." Euphemia told him.

"But Sub-Viceroy, he's an Honorary Britannian." The soldier argued. "We are most certainly dealing with the Black Knights here, what if he turns the Lancelot-."

"Are you actually arguing with someone who out ranks you?" Rai asked laughing slightly.

"You do realize you're criticizing a member of royalty, right?" Lloyd agreed with Rai. The soldier stuttered nearly word as he apologized. Rai and Lloyd high-five while no one was looking.

"Kururugi," Euphemia said. Suzaku looked at her. "Demonstrate your valor for us today; so that we may finally silence all these naysayers." She ordered.

"Right." Suzaku agreed.

"But don't overdo it." Rai told him. Suzaku nodded at Rai and then ran to the Lancelot. Rai followed Lloyd and the others. They all went into the Lancelot's trailer.

"Rai," Lloyd said. Rai looked at him. "Who do you think is setting this trap?" Euphemia immediately turned to Rai.

"What trap?" she demanded. Rai opened his mouth, but Lloyd answered for him.

"Oh Rai believes that this entire situation is a trap for the Black Knights." Lloyd explained. Euphemia frowned in confusion.

"And you know who's behind it?" Euphemia asked Rai.

"I don't, honestly I don't have a clue as to who's pulling the strings." Rai lied. After that they watch the fight.

Rai leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. _What should I do now? Soon Lelouch and Suzaku are going to fall for Schneizel's trap. Crap, I don't know if I can just sit here and let something bad happen. I've done that too many times already! If I want to change things, then I have to actually _do_ something. _Rai ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. _But what is there that I can do? I still can't pilot a Knightmare yet, so it's not as if 'Akuma' can go jumping into the battle. Not to mention I don't have my disguise with me. I really don't want to have to do the same thing I did when Scott's ex-girlfriend attacked the school with a tank. Even if I did _that_; where'd I get gasoline, a bic lighter, and some bottles? _Rai opened his eyes and looked at the giant screen everyone else was watching. _I have to think of something fast, it's about to happen._

He took a deep breath and blew it out. Steeling himself, Rai stepped away from the wall and walked out of the Lancelot's trailer without anyone noticing. Once he was outside, Rai looked around. _Let's see, they should be over…there-I hope. _Rai went in the direction where there was gunfire, but was a little distance away from the military's base on the island. After taking a few steps, though, Rai paused, and then once again looked around. _I don't have much time, so I need to find some form of transportation-ah ha!_ Rai grinned when he saw a military-issue motorcycle. "I always wanted to ride a motorcycle!" Rai said out loud.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A soldier shouted at him when Rai hopped onto the motorcycle. The man started walking towards Rai.

"Uh-bye!" Rai said. Having no excuse he decided to just ignore the question. Rai turned the motorcycle on and yelled out in surprise when it zoomed forward. Rai nearly hit the soldier while turning. He knocked over a metal barrel of something while trying to avoid another soldier. _It's just like a bicycle, Rai-just like a bike-! _"This is nothing like riding a bicycle!" Rai shouted as he almost tipped the motorcycle over. Rai sped past the soldiers and headed towards where he believed Suzaku and Lelouch were.

~With Lelouch and Suzaku~

Suzaku glared at Zero. The two of them were standing face-to-face outside of their Knightmares. Zero was pointing a gun at Suzaku. They were in a huge sand ditch, one that the Black Knights had dug up in order to trap the Lancelot.

"aahh…hhh…aaa…" It was a faint sound. Suzaku and Zero both looked in the direction of the noise.

"What was that?" Zero wondered out loud.

"A bird?" Suzaku guessed.

"aaahhh…aaaaa…hhhhh" The sound was getting louder.

"That doesn't sound like a bird." Zero said. "More like someone…screaming?" Zero wasn't sure.

"Aaaahhhh! Where's the breaks on this thing?" a person screamed. It took the two guys a moment to figure out who it was.

"Rai?" Suzaku yelled. "What's he doing?"

Rai, who was still screaming, came into view. There was a small boulder in his way, but Rai didn't see it…Probably because his eyes were closed. The motorcycle Rai was on hit the boulder and Rai was sent flying head first into the ditch that Suzaku and Zero were standing in. He fell over and landed on his back. For several seconds he just laid there and blinked up at the sky.

"Are you alright?" Zero asked Rai. Rai simply groaned in reply.

"What are you doing here?" Suzaku all but yelled as he bent down to help Rai up. Rai grabbed his hand. "You were supposed to be with Lloyd and the others!" After Rai was in a standing position, he swayed a little.

"A friend of yours?" Zero asked. Rai almost gave him an annoyed look, but didn't.

"You're Zero?" Rai asked. Zero nodded. "Your costume's ridiculous." Rai told the criminal.

"Rai, you need to get back to where the others are now." Suzaku ordered. Rai pulled away from Suzaku and crossed his arms over his chest. He scowled at Suzaku.

"No." Rai said stubbornly.

"This is no place for a civilian." Zero warned Rai. Rai ignored him.

"I'm not going." Rai said.

"Yes you are." Suzaku told him. Rai gave him an annoying grin.

"Only if I'm dragged off." Rai argued. Suzaku was about to say something but then they heard a voice coming from his headset.

"-rugi-Major Kururugi! Please respond!" The person on the other end said. Suzaku put a hand to the device on his ear.

"What is it?" he asked.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Fare, commander here on Shikude Island." The man introduced himself. "We're launching surface to surface missiles against the terrorists. Major Kururugi, your orders are to keep Zero there!"

"They're giving him up to die!" Zero gasped. Before Suzaku could grab Zero, Rai tripped him and then sat on his back.

"Are you nuts Suzaku?" Rai yelled. "You're seriously going to obey an order like that?"

"I have to!" Suzaku shouted, trying to get back up. Rai looked up at Zero.

"You got any rope? 'Cause this place is going to be full of holes soon and my idiot friend here won't come quietly." Rai told him. Suzaku finally knocked Rai off him. Rai lunged and latched on to Suzaku's legs.

"Rai stop it!" Suzaku demanded. He kicked Rai in the shoulder. Rai let Suzaku go and fell backwards, hitting his head on a rock. Suzaku then grasped one of Zero's arms and twisted behind his back. Suzaku forced the arm that was holding the gun in to a position where the gun was pressing into Zero's neck. Suzaku dragged Zero over to the Lancelot and forced him into the cockpit.

Kallen, in her Guren, jumped into the pit but couldn't get any closer because the barrier around it stopped her Knightmare from moving even another step. Rai sat up rubbing his head. When he looked up into the sky, he saw the missiles. The Black Knights began shooting down as many as they could.

"Shit…" Rai swore. He scrambled up and climbed up the Lancelot to the cockpit.

"Suzaku, let Zero go, it's me!" Kallen had opened her cockpit and was yelling. "Suzaku it's me, Kallen from the student counsel!" She leaped out of the Knightmare and began running to the Lancelot.

"A soldier must _always_ follow his orders!" Suzaku growled. Rai tried to snatch the gun from him.

"Only a stupid one!" Rai retorted. They wrestled with each other.

That's when they saw a large shadow. Rai and Suzaku paused, looking up to see a large airship. "Well isn't that lovely." Rai snarled under his breath. He turned to Suzaku. "The next time I tell you I think something's a trap you better listen to me damn it!" Rai screamed.

The underside of the _Avalon_ opened, and they could see something hidden in the darkness of inside the airship.

"Damn it Suzaku, do something, you're going to die!" Zero shouted, leaning towards the other two. Suzaku jerk the gun away from Rai and pointed it at Zero.

"Better that than breaking the rules!" Suzaku shot back. Rai knew what was going to happen next so he looked away from Zero. Rai instead looked at the Knightmare that was charging its lasers inside the _Avalon_.

"You stubborn fool!" Zero roared.

There was a blinding flash of red-and then nothing but darkness.


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry this is so late. I have no real excuse. I was just being lazy. *laughs nervously* **

**Thanks to Past Remedies, Frieda, ZeroPanda, Lucinda-Chan, Katmat, Kiseki no Tenshi, Shiroikage, and BabyLuvs2Write.**

Rai snapped his eyes open and scrambled into a sitting position. His breathing was labored and he was sweating badly. His clothes were sticking to him.

Rai froze when he noticed where he was.

_What in the hell?_ He wondered. Rai looked around the room he was in.

It was the dorm room he shared with Scott and a couple other boys. He was back at Lucifer's All Boys Academy. In the dorm room were two sets of bunk-beds, four dressers, four desks, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a sitting room.

"How-How'd I get back? Was…" Rai stood up and looked out the window. It was cloudy just like always and a crow was sitting in the tree that was up against the building. "Was it all a dream?" Rai scowled. "If it was-then that was one vivid dream…" Rai went to the dresser with his name on it. He picked his cell phone off the top and looked at the date. _I left this reality August 28__th__, which was the first day of school. But according to my phone…_ Rai let out a shuddering breath. "It's the 13th of December. I've been gone for four months." Rai put the phone back down and then pulled out the school uniform from his dressers. He was still wearing what he had on when he went with Suzaku to escort Euphemia. That was a hint that he didn't dream what had happened. _Has it only been four months? It feels like longer. Also I can't assume that the timelines are matching up exactly. _Rai got dressed.

The door suddenly opened just as he finished putting on his shoes.

A boy with short, messy obsidian hair that was sticking up at odd angles, blinked at Rai. Richard's dark blue eyes widened.

"Holy shit, _Rai_?" Richard gasped. Before Rai could even open his mouth to reply, he was almost tackled by Richard. "You're alive!" Richard exclaimed happily.

_Okay, being in Code Geass wasn't just a dream if Rich's reaction is any indication._ Rai told himself. "Rich…I can't breathe…" Rai said, trying to escape his friend's crushing hold.

"Yo dumbass," A different boy, this one had neon green hair that was in the same hair style as Richard's and had the same eyes. He was standing in the doorway, with another boy behind him. The boy behind the one with green hair had blonde hair that was the same as the other two's and had the same dark blue eyes. "Let go of him unless ya want King ta be pissed at ya."

Richard glared at the boy with green hair.

"Shut up Edward!" Richard growled. He let go of Rai and went into a fighting stance. "You want me to kick your loser ass?" Edward smirked at Richard.

"Ya welcome ta try, _little_ bro." Edward taunted. Richard bared his teeth at Edward.

"You're only a few seconds older than me!" Richard argued. The blonde, who wasn't being noticed at this time, spoke up.

"Brothers, could you please stop fighting? Rai might be back, but Scott's still missing." The blonde boy (whose name was James) told the others in a voice that could only be barely heard.

Rai looked at James.

"Wait, Scott went missing as well?" Rai asked him. James nodded. _Does that mean that Scott was transported into Code Geass as well? Ha! Serves him right for using me as a lab rat!_

"…Rai? Why are ya cacklin'?" Edward asked. The triplets were staring at Rai with mirrored bothered expressions. Rai paused. He hadn't realized that he had been laughing out loud.

"…Nothing. So what's happened since Scott and I've been gone?" Rai asked.

"Nah much ta be honest." Edward said.

"King hasn't been that worried…which is disturbing in itself." Richard said.

"We figured that wherever Scott and you disappeared to, King was behind it." James said.

"Figured that ya two were dead." Edward said. Rai gave them a funny look.

"Dead? You're kidding right?" Rai asked. The triplets shook their heads in unison.

"You do tend to anger King, so if you did turn up dead no one would be too surprised." Richard told him. Rai now glared at him.

"With friends like you, who needs enemies?" Rai muttered darkly. "What about Scott? Why would you think he was dead?"

"Because Scott never could convince you to do as King wanted. If Scott couldn't do what he was ordered to, what use would he be to King?" James pointed out.

Rai frowned at this information. It didn't sound like Derrick to kill off someone who disobeyed him. Derrick was the kind of person who wouldn't stop trying to control someone until they would bend to his will.

_Then…he must have known what would happen. It was all planned? But why? What could Derrick's motive be for hiding me in the Code Geass universe? Shit, Derrick's like Aizen from Bleach or something-always having overly complicated plans and confusing the crap out of everyone else. _Rai thought with a sigh. He looked at the boys in front of him. "I suppose we should go tell His Royal Pain in My Ass that I'm back." Rai said.

Richard snickered at what Rai called Derrick, while Edward and James just nodded. The three of them went out the door first.

As Rai stepped through the doorway, he suddenly felt as if he was in water. He couldn't breathe and he was submerged in icy water. He could faintly hear the triplets screaming his name, but when Rai tried to call out, salty water filled his mouth.

He looked around and couldn't see anything but water, which was stinging his eyes. Rai looked up and could see the surface of the water. As calmly as he could, Rai kicked a little and let himself float up.

The moment Rai's head was above water, he cough and choke-his lungs screaming for air. Once again Rai looked around him, but the only land mass he could see was a small island thirty feet away. He swam to it and dragged himself up on the shore.

Gasping and shaking from the cold water, he collapsed onto the sand and rolled onto his back. Rai stared up at the clear blue sky that only had a few clouds floating lazily by.

"Great, where am I this time?" Rai complained under his breath.

After a while, he sat up and looked at the clothes he was wearing. It was the school uniform that he had put on when he was back at the academy. "I really did go back…but how? And how did I was I brought here?" Rai asked himself out loud. _Am I in Code Geass again, or am I in a different universe? Damn it, if Derrick really is behind all of this, I'm going to make him pay!_ Rai stood, growling darkly and wanting to hurt somebody. He looked around the area he was in and saw that there was a lot of rocky terrain. There was a hill that sprouted from the center of the island and was make of rock. "I might as well try to find out if there's anyone else on this island." Rai grumbled. He made his way up the rocky slope.

~And now we get to see what Scott (the creepy bastard) is up to at the moment~

Scott practically skipped with every step as he followed Schneizel down the hallway. The obnoxious fat man (for Scott refused to actually say or think the man's real name.) walked slightly behind Scott and glared daggers at the teenage boy, who could feel it, but was ignoring it.

"Hooray, Yippy, and other exclamations I can't recall at the moment! Rai-chan is alive! …at least he was before he got blown up and away…" Scott looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "No matter, at least I know where he is…well, I _knew_ where he was…" Scott said, earning a light chuckle from Schneizel.

"Do you even know the meaning of 'silence'?" the annoying four-eyed mutant hissed. Actually he wasn't really a mutant and he was just wearing glasses, but Scott still didn't care for him and hoped the man would get eaten by something or just go off and die somewhere.

"Silence is golden. But duck tape is silver." Scott told the man. "Unfortunately I don't have any duck tape with me, or Prince Schneizel and I are force to listen to your grating voice."

General Bartley glared at Scott even more hatefully now. Schneizel chuckled again.

"That's enough you two. There's no need to squabble." Schneizel chided. Scott stuck his tongue out at Bartley.

They entered the cargo bay where Lloyd and Cecile were with the Lancelot. Cecile was on a laptop and sitting up next to the Lancelot while Lloyd was walking around.

"Oh my, who would've imagined a floating aircraft carrier!" Lloyd said as he looked around. He turned his attention to Prince Schneizel as they walked in. "You told me to gather data before practical applications, correct?" Lloyd asked.

"Because I'm extremely interested in whatever you create. I needed to see if this could be made real." Schneizel explained, coming to a stop next to Lloyd. Lloyd smiled in amusement.

"And the Hadren Cannon?" Lloyd inquired.

"We wanted to know if the thing worked." Schneizel said, sounding almost as if it was an innocent thing to do. He looked up at Cecile. "I've been looking forward to seeing you, Miss Cecile Croomy. I am-." Cecile stared at Schneizel in wonder.

"Prince Schneizel, right here?" she gasped, interrupting him. Bartley chose this moment to suddenly rush to the others.

"You impudent little-!" he tried to say. Scott appeared at the man's side and slapped something over his mouth. Bartley made a noise of surprise and stepped back like he had really been attacked. There was a strip of duck tape over his mouth.

"Guess what? I found duck tape!" Scott stated the obvious. He then turned to Cecile. "Don't mind that moron, he as a stick so far up his ass that it's permanently stuck there." Scott told her. "I'm sure he was going to say something about you looking down on Schneizi-kins or something to that effect."

Cecile gasped when she realized Scott was right and tried to get down. However she stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Nice one." Lloyd deadpanned. Schneizel walked (Scott felt that it was more like a saunter) up to Cecile and held out his hand.

"You're not injured are you?" he asked. Cecile looked up at him. "Yes, I am Prince Schneizel El Britannia. Please, give me your hand." Cecile grasped his hand and Schneizel pulled her up.

By this time, Bartley had finally got enough brain cells to work and ripped of the tape instead of standing there and trying to talk through it.

"Eck, she's unworthy." Bartley nearly pouted as he said it. Scott secretly unrolled some more tape and got ready to use it if Bartley got too annoying to his tastes again.

"General you're quite the devoted subject, aren't you." Lloyd observed.

"Of course he is." Scott said before Bartley could respond. "If it wasn't for Schnei-poo, the fool would be locked up somewhere where no one would have to deal with him anymore."

"Stop calling Prince Schneizel strange things!" Bartley snarled at Scott. Schneizel interrupted them before the two could start bickering…again…

"Scott, stop goading him." Schneizel ordered. "Bartley has been a great help to me as he was to my brother Clovis. Even if you two don't get along, please at least try to be civil to each other."

"Yes Milord." Barley said grudgingly.

"No promises" Scott said with a smile. Schneizel turned back to Cecile.

"Now, milady Cecile, if you'll excuse me." Schneizel said, bowing politely to the woman. Cecile blushed madly at the prince's charms.

"Y-yes, your highness." She stuttered shyly. Schneizel stood back up.

"Farewell." He said softly, as if he was bidding goodbye to a lover.

"You can wait for me at the base, Cecile." Lloyd told his assistant. Cecile looked as if she was in a daze. She snapped out of it.

"Huh? Where are you going?" She asked.

"Just a little errand." Lloyd said. "While I'm doing that, I'll use the Avalon to look for Suzaku." He began walking away with Schneizel, Bartley, and Scott. "It's hard to find devices like that young man. Especially after yesterday's exploits."

"Please wait." Cecile suddenly asked. "Were those orders issued by the prince?" she referred to how Suzaku was ordered to sacrifice his life to help kill Zero.

"Silence! You don't want to be in contempt do you?" Bartley snapped, stopping to glare at Cecile. The others also stopped. Schneizel looked back at Cecile.

"Those orders were mine, Miss Cecile." Schneizel admitted. "I also fired the Hadren. Even if in a situation like that, my orders mustn't be forgotten. Besides, if something anomalous had happened we wouldn't have been able to rescue him. That's what I gambled on. He is after all, Suzaku Kururugi, Ace Pilot of the Special Core, and Euphie's knight."

"Yes, milord. I understand now. And I sorely regret my rudeness. I accept any you decree." Cecile said.

"Nonsense." Schneizel said almost tenderly. "It's my fault for not protecting my subordinates." He looked genuinely saddened. "Can you ever forgive me?" he asked, turning around and beginning to walk away again. Scott and the other two men followed him.

"You should be careful Schni-y, someone might think you actually had compassion." Scott warned with a smirk as he walked next to the prince. Schneizel didn't reply; he simply ruffled Scott's hair.

~Now back to Rai~

Rai ran down the hill as fast as he could.

"This is ridiculous! In the show there wasn't any big wild animals," Rai paused when he heard a roar behind him. "So why am I being chased by mountain lion!" Rai yelled. "Cat's usually like me-not want to eat meeeaaaah!" Rai tripped over a root that was sticking up out of the ground and tumbled. He rolled the rest of the way down the hill and flew right past Suzaku and Kallen just to land in the water.

Suzaku had been in the water catching fish, while Kallen was sitting with her arms tied behind her back, on a large flat rock next to the pool of water. They both stared at where Rai had fallen into the water.

"Was that Rai?" Kallen asked.

"He's on this island too?" Suzaku wondered. Rai finally resurface, gasping for air.

"C-cat." Rai stuttered. "R-really b-b-big c-cat." He looked around wildly, but didn't see the mountain lion that had been chasing him. _Oh sure, you don't want to eat any _main_ characters, but you want to eat me?_ Rai snarled silently after seeing Suzaku and Kallen. He slowly made his way to the rock Kallen was sitting on and flopped down on it. "What are you doing here Kallen?" Rai asked after catching his breath.

Kallen narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I could ask you the same question! Why were you with Suzaku?" She demanded.

"Lloyd, invited me remember? At the party everyone was throwing for Suzaku?" Rai reminded her.

There was silence. Suzaku and Kallen were glaring at each other.

"Rai, Kallen is part of the Black Knights." Suzaku told Rai. Rai opened one eye and looked at Kallen.

"Seriously?" Rai asked. Kallen nodded determinately. "I guess that's why you were piloting that one Knightmare then."

"Rai!" Suzaku shouted. "Could you at least act a little more…shocked or betrayed or something? She's a terrorist!"

Rai shrugged.

"I was just chased all the way down a hill by a mountain lion who decided it wanted me for dinner." Rai told them. "At the moment, she could be Zero and I still wouldn't care. I'm tired and hungry and now sopping wet…again. So I really don't give a rat's rear end right now, okay? Wait until I have to energy before you ask me to freak out about something." Rai closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep.

A few moments of silence later, something fell right next to him and began flopping around. Rai looked and saw that it was a fish.

"Dinner?" he asked.

"Yes." Suzaku replied. He paused for a moment. "Kallen, how about if you promise not to escape and to help find some food, I'll untie you for now."

"Yeah right!" Kallen snarled sarcastically. "You're not going to win me over, what do you take me for?"

"You're so stubborn. You don't act like this at school." Suzaku said. Rai rolled his eyes and slowly got up.

"I'll go find some fruit or something." Rai offered.

"Be careful." Both Suzaku and Kallen told him. They gave each other strange looks. Rai grinned and shook his head.

"Don't worry about me. You'll know I'm in trouble if you hear me screaming again." Rai half said jokingly.

"Try not to be a big cat's lunch while you're out there." Suzaku teased. Rai stuck his tongue out at the other boy childishly.

Rai walked aimlessly through the wooded area, completely forgetting that with his bad sense of direction he got lost easily. He looked at various plants, but couldn't find anything that looked edible. Rai knew that there were roots that a person would be able to eat if boiled, but he didn't have a bowl of any kind and he didn't know what kind of roots would be okay to eat. Hell, he didn't even know what kind of berries were okay to eat.

Rai sighed, feeling mildly annoyed with himself for not paying attention in the Wilderness Survival class he had to take a couple years ago back at the Academy.

That's when he bumped into something. For a horrifying moment, Rai thought he just ran into another large wild animal that would want to brutally murder him and then eat his remains.

However, he didn't know of any dangerous animals that were _pink_.

Princess Euphemia blinked at Rai. She was holding a large leaf with some strange fruits on it.

"Ah, y-your highness!" Rai yelped, bowing to Euphemia.

"Oh you're Suzaku's friend." She frowned for a second, apparently trying to remember something. "Your name's…Rai, right?" Euphemia asked. Rai nodded, standing upright again.

_That's right, Lelouch and Euphie landed on the same island as Suzaku and Kallen. _Rai remembered. "Yes, that's right…Are you okay?" Rai asked hesitantly. Euphemia smiled sweetly at him and nodded. And Rai completely forgot why he was even wandering around the woods in the first place.

Ever since the first episode, Rai thought that Euphemia was the prettiest of all the girls in Code Geass. She was so nice and caring and the way she always wanted to help someone made her one of Rai's favorite characters.

"-Rai? Are you listening?" Rai was snapped out of his thoughts. Euphemia had been saying something.

"What was that? Sorry, I spaced off for a moment." Rai apologized. Euphemia giggled.

"That's alright. I was just wondering if you would like to eat dinner with me and…well…another person. It's better if we all stay in the same place." Euphemia explained.

_She doesn't want to tell me about Lelouch. If she had said 'and my brother' that would mean that she knew who Zero was. It would be the same if she said 'and Zero' but Lelouch might not be wearing his Zero mask and then it would show that Lelouch is Zero. She doesn't know that I am aware of whom Zero is…and that I'm working for him…_ Rai thought. "Sure."

Rai forgot all about Suzaku and Kallen.

Rai followed Euphemia to where Lelouch was waiting for her on the beach. They saw Lelouch sitting. He looked tired and slightly dejected.

Lelouch looked up at them as they neared.

"Rai, you're here as well?" Lelouch asked.

"No, I'm just a figment of your imagination. Don't mind me." Rai said sarcastically. Lelouch ignored the comment. "…Uh." Rai wasn't sure how to act surprised about Lelouch wearing his Zero costume. "So you're Zero?" Rai asked uncertainly.

Lelouch just gave him an annoyed look.

"Rai, you don't have to pretend you don't know." Lelouch told him.

"You knew that Lelouch was Zero?" Euphemia asked Rai, staring at him. Rai ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Yeah…You know about that guy 'Akuma'?" Rai asked.

"The person everyone calls 'Zero's Hellhound' right?" Euphemia questioned. Rai nodded.

"Yep, that's the one. I'm 'Akuma'." Rai told her. Euphemia looked at Lelouch, and then back at Rai.

"Oh, you two are working together…Okay." She smiled at Rai, not seeming to mind that she just found out that she was in the company of two of the most wanted terrorists in the world. "Here's the fruit I found." Euphemia said, placing the leaf in front of Lelouch. Lelouch pouted at it as Rai and Euphie sat down.

They began eating. Lelouch still seemed mildly depressed about something. "I'm sure you can make your pitfall trap tomorrow." Euphemia tried to cheer him up. It didn't work.

After they ate, Rai almost immediately lied down. He curled up as if he were a cat and dozed off, listening to Euphemia's and Lelouch's voices, but not actually hearing what they were saying.

~Early in the Morning~

Rai was woken by someone shaking him.

"Rai awake up. We need to go." It was Lelouch. Rai opened his eyes and let Lelouch stand him up. He followed Lelouch and Euphemia as they made their way up the hill.

"Where are we going?" Rai asked.

"Lelouch saw lights. He thinks that it was a search party." Euphemia explained.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rai questioned Lelouch.

"Once we know who it is, then we can figure out how to deal with them." Lelouch told Rai. Rai nodded sleepily and let out a long yawn.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the top. "I think it was right around here." Lelouch said.

"Lelouch, if it is a search party, then will our time be over here?" Euphemia asked her brother. The three of them stopped walking. Lelouch hesitated before answering.

"Yes, it will." Lelouch replied. He then smiled at her. "I'm such an undependable knight. I couldn't even catch you any food." Lelouch said. Euphemia smiled back at him. "And besides, that's a job reserved for a real knight. Your knight, Suzaku Kururugi-!" Lelouch was interrupted by Rai yelling out in alarm.

"Crap, how could I forget? I'm such an idiot!" Rai shouted, hitting himself in the forehead. The siblings gave him a funny look.

"What are you talking about?" Lelouch asked.

"Suzaku's on this island as well! The reason I was in the woods was that I was going to try and find some food." Rai explained.

Before Lelouch could say anything, they heard rustling noises. Lelouch pushed Rai and Euphemia into the bushes. He threw his cloak over his shoulders and put on his mask as they hid.

They saw Suzaku and Kallen walk out of the woods at the opposite side of the clearing.

Euphemia stood up.

"Suzaku!" She called out. Rai jumped up as well.

"Princess Euphemia!" Suzaku gasped.

"Rai?" Kallen asked, most likely wondering what he was doing there.

"Don't move!" Lelouch ordered, also coming out of their hiding spot. Rai saw that he had a gun.

_Did he have that this whole time?_ Rai exclaimed in his head.

Lelouch grabbed Euphemia's arm and pointed a gun at her.

"This girl is my prisoner." Lelouch said. "As well as the boy."

"Leave me out of this." Rai muttered under his breath.

"Just follow my que." Lelouch told Euphemia and Rai in a whisper. "I'll take back my subordinate you have there." He said loud enough for Suzaku and Kallen to hear. "We'll exchange prisoners."

"Zero," Suzaku said with a hint of anger. He began walking toward them. "Once again you-."

"Keep back!" Lelouch ordered. Suzaku stopped. "You find my actions cowardly?" Lelouch asked with a scoff. When Suzaku didn't reply, Lelouch laughed at him. "Eliminate terrorists no matter what the sacrifice." Rai saw Kallen move her arms under her legs and stepped over them so that her bounded hands were in now in front of her. "Do you intend to follow this rule and let your _mistress_ die?" Lelouch hissed. "In spite of the fact that your integrity as already been broken?"

Kallen rushed Suzaku from behind and threw her arms over his head. She moved them so that Suzaku's arms were pinned against his body and he was trapped.

"Leave him alone!" Euphemia demanded such a forceful voice that it surprised Rai.

_Well, acting must run in the family…_ Rai thought drily.

"Shut up you royal puppet!" Kallen snapped. "You're useless! You can't think for yourself or do anything on your own!"

"What?" Euphemia gasped in indignation.

"Is this the wrong time to say 'cat fight'?" Rai whispered to Lelouch. He could hear Lelouch try not to laugh.

"I'm not afraid of you and I don't care what happens to me! Suzaku, I command you to fight!" Euphemia ordered.

"Your highness!" Lelouch said.

Suzaku broke out of Kallen's hold without hesitation.

"My pleasure." He growled as he lunged for Lelouch. Lelouch and Euphemia jumped away from each other. Suzaku stood in front of Euphemia. Lelouch faced him, being a distance away. Rai and Kallen were on the sidelines it seemed.

"You hard headed fool!" Lelouch shouted at Suzaku, pointing the gun at him.

That's when the ground began to light up. It was a red-purple glow.

Rai knew that it was in the shape of the 'Code'.

Everyone gasped in surprise.

The ground rumbled. A section of the earth began lowering itself like an elevator shaft.

It only stopped when they reached the floor of a large cavern. Rai looked around.

As he suspected; Lloyd, General Bartley, Prince Schneizel, and few Britannian soldiers were in the cavern along with some Knightmares.

What he didn't expect was:

"Scott?" Rai shouted when he saw his friend. The others on the platform looked and saw the people.

Scott smiled happily and waved to Rai as if there was nothing strange or out of the ordinary happening at the moment.

Soldiers pointed their weapons at them and Rai suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the fact that he was closer to Lelouch than Suzaku at the moment. They might think he was with Zero.

…Well he was, but that wasn't the point.

"Don't shoot you fools!" General Bartley ordered. "Princess Euphemia's with them. Capture them! Capture them!"

"Look Zero, that's a Knightmare over there!" Kallen told Lelouch as she finally freed herself from what was keeping her hands tied.

"Perfect, we'll use that!" Lelouch shouted. "Let's go!" He sprinted towards the black Knightmare that was near them.

"Right!" Kallen said. She turned to the soldiers that were running towards her and pulled out something that Rai didn't get a good look at.

There was a blinding light. Rai was momentarily blinded because he was dumb enough to actually look at what she was holding even though he knew it would do that.

"Suzaku what's wrong?" Euphemia asked. Rai didn't know what was happening. He heard gun shots and the soldiers shouting.

By the time he had regained his sight, Lelouch and Kallen had already taken the Gawain and had escaped the cavern.

Rai jumped down from the platform, purposely landing on Scott.

"You crazy bastard." Rai growled, glaring at Scott.

"Missed you to, Rai." Scott said with a grin. Rai rolled his eyes and got off of him.

"You have a lot of explaining to do Scott." Rai told him. Scott just shrugged.

Rai followed Scott, Lloyd, Bartley, and Schneizel out of the cavern. They watched as the Gawain flew away.

"The Gawain! My beautiful, prized Gawain!" Bartley sobbed.

"Well, it was only a test model." Schneizel said, apparently trying to look on the bright side. He turned when he heard Suzaku and Euphemia coming out of the cave. "Aside from that, I'm thankful you're both alright." He smiled at them. Euphemia returned it.

"Oh Schneizel I missed you!" She told him. She ran up to him.

"Did Euphie, I'm sorry it took us so long." Schneizel apologized.

"But he didn't _do_ anything!" Rai argued quietly to Scott. "We just dropped in. Literally!" Scott patted Rai on the head in sympathy.

"No, it's alright." Euphemia told her older brother.

"Your highness." One of the soldiers said. "Shall we keep to the schedule?"

"Oh, right." Schneizel said dismissively. Two soldier pointed guns at Suzaku while a different man stood in front of him.

"Major Suzaku Kururugi, you're under arrest for violation of military regulation." The man said. Euphemia gasped when she heard it. She turned to the man.

"What's the meaning of this?" She asked in anger. "Major Kururugi's my knight-!"

"-And looks absolutely delicious in that form-fitting spandex." Scott muttered to Rai with a smirk.

Rai punched him in the arm. Hard.

Schneizel put his hand on Euphemia's shoulder.

"This is something I can take care of later." Schneizel said. "For now, let them be." Euphemia looked at him.

"Did something happen?" she asked him.

Before Rai could hear anymore, Scott dragged him away from the others.

"You want to know why I transported us here, right?" Scott asked. Rai nodded. "Come on then. I can't tell you here."

Rai sighed, but willingly followed Scott.


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks to BabyLuvs2Write, Naome 666, Katmat, Lucinda-Chan, Red Fingers, Kiseki no Tenshi, ZeroPanda**

The hotel room was overly extravagant. Of course since Scott wasn't paying for it-he absolutely loved it.

"You can watch all sorts of dirty movies on the TV, and the maids around here don't even seem fazed!" Scott told Rai happily. Rai rolled his eyes.

Before this…strange conversation, Rai had told Scott everything that had happened to him since he had landed in the Code Geass reality.

"They're not getting paid to freak out about what a guest is watching…not to mention they've mostly seen other people watch that filth. Of course you're not going to surprise them." Rai pointed out. "They'd probably be shocked if you didn't."

Scott shrugged and went to the mini-bar on the opposite side of the room. "Are you seriously going to drink right now?" Rai asked in annoyance. He wanted Scott to hurry up and explain everything. But so far Scott had been stubbornly ignoring the subject.

"You really need to chill, you know that? If you were any more of a 'goody-goody', you'd throw up rainbows and give 'friendship speeches'." Scott scolded. He wagged his finger at Rai as if the brunette was a small child who was acting out.

Rai gave Scott an annoyed look as Scott walked back over and put a tiny bottle of some sort of alcohol in front of Rai. "C'mon Rai, live a little for once!"

With that, Scott opened the small bottle and attempted to shove the contents down Rai's throat.

That earned him a kick in his own throat.

"Live a little?" Rai asked indignantly. "I was forced to work for a megalomaniac, I've been harassed by a mind-reading creeper, I've nearly died several times, I agreed to willingly work for the same megalomaniac, My supposed best friend's the one who decided 'what the hell, let's see if Rai can survive in a reality that personally seems to want his demise!', oh and let's not forget the fact that I've _killed people_!" Rai paused, panting while glaring at Scott. Scott stared back at him.

"Well…I bet the people you killed would've died anyway." Scott said, honestly sounding cheery.

This time he dodged Rai's attack.

"For the love of everything, damn it Scott just tell me: Why?" Rai demanded. There was exasperation in his voice. Scott stared at him for a second, as if he forgot what Rai was talking about. He blinked a few times when he remembered.

"Alright, alright sit down. I'll tell you okay?" Scott said, motioning to the couch that Rai had been sitting on. Rai sat back down while Scott sat on the couch opposite of him. "…Since I hadn't been able to get you to behave yourself at the Academy, Derrick ordered me to do something-anything that would show you that it would just be better if you did as you should." Scott told him.

Rai stared at Scott.

"…How on Earth did you get 'send Rai to Code freaking Geass' out of that?" Rai asked as calmly as he could muster. Scott smiled at him.

"Well I figured that if you were in a position, a place you were not familiar with, you would realize how difficult things are when you stand alone…that sort of backfired I think…How the hell did you join the Black Knights? I mean, it's awesome, but I want to know how you," Scott pointed at Rai. "A little bookworm who avoids all confrontations he can; stumbled his way into the Black Knights." Scott said.

Rai smiled weakly under Scott's scrutiny.

"I already told you. Lelouch found out I knew who he was, and he wanted to make sure I couldn't run off and tell anybody." Rai reminded him.

Scott scowled in a way that worried Rai. The only time Scott had _that_ look on his face was when-. "Oh crap what did you do this time?" Rai demanded.

Scott tried to act innocent.

"I don't know what you're talking a-." Scott stopped his act when he saw Rai's glare. "Okay, remember that funny tasting tea I gave that morning?" Rai's glare became darker. "Well, it was actually a potion. It was supposed to work like-you know, that one spell in Harry Potter-that 'Notice-me-not' or whatever-."

"Scott," Rai interrupted in a voice that sounded normal, but had an underlying hint of frightening anger. "That's a spell in a _fictional book_. What possessed you to believe that you could do the same thing in real life?" Rai inquired.

"I brought us here didn't I?" Scott said defensively. However, that did not help things remotely whatsoever.

"Ah yes," Rai stood up. Even though he was shorter than Scott, Rai appeared to tower over Scott's sitting form. "I almost forgot about that."

"Er…" Scott said. "Please don't be mad?"

"Too late." Rai smiled in a happy voice that scared Scott more than the anger did.

Rai punched Scott in the face so hard that blood flew out of Scott's nose and the couch tipped over. Scott went sprawling. Rai cracked his knuckles. Scott sat up and held his nose.

"Was knat todaly nesssary?" Scott asked, he sounded strange because he was holding his nose.

"No," Rai admitted. "But it felt good."

Scott went to the bathroom and stuffed some toilet paper in his nose. Apparently it wasn't broken. When he came back out he put the couch up right and sat on it again. Rai also sat back down.

"Anyway, I guess from what you told me, the potion was what backfired in my plan." Scott summarized. His voice still sounded funny, but it was easier to understand.

"Among other things, yeah." Rai agreed.

"But if it did the opposite, shouldn't have the main characters really noticed you right away?" Scott wondered.

"Maybe something prevented them from doing so." Rai said.

"But what could it have been?" Scott asked. Rai shrugged.

Suddenly he remembered something.

"After the blast, I somehow was back at the Academy. Did you ever 'appear' back there?" Rai asked. Scott shook his head.

"Nope, but that could have been something to do with the cannon. It could have messed with the spell I put on us and momentarily returned you." Scott hypothesized.

"Speaking of which, when are we leaving?" Rai wanted to know.

"…" Scott froze for a moment. "I have no clue." He admitted.

Rai's next word echoed throughout the hotel building when he screamed it.

"WHAT?"

~Days later~

Rai hated being in the submarine. Especially when the thing was submerged, Rai truly loathed that. But there wasn't anything he could do.

Scott and he agreed that Rai should continue with his plans. Scott said that he would help in any way he could (since his mission was shot to hell anyway.).

They had no way home, so the two of them decided to wait it out and see if Scott's spell wore off (Rai refused to let Scott try _another _spell. Who knows if he would get that one right or not.)?

Usually Scott had an amazing record when it came to spells; however this string of bad luck made Rai weary of the idea.

"Akuma, you've been awfully quiet." Ohgi observed. Rai was standing next to him.

"Ah, I just saw a friend of mine the other day that I hadn't had contact with in quite a while." Rai told him. "I was just milling over what he said."

"About what?" Ohgi asked, surprised that 'Akuma' was speaking so calmly…and that such a person had friends.

Rai decided it wouldn't be a good thing if 'Akuma' had a sane moment.

"About how burning bodies is more fun to watch than a burning forest." Rai said with a creepy smile.

Ohgi stopped talking to him.

"Ah…So you're saying…" Tamaki seemed clueless as to what Zero meant. Rai focused on the meeting.

"We aren't going to collaborate with Sawazaki. He is not independent. He's a puppet for the Chinese Federation." Zero explained.

"But he says he's fighting for Japan." Someone Rai didn't see argued.

"We'd get a new name and a new master, but nothing more would change." Zero said. "His Japan is a sham."

"Yeah, so what you're really saying is-" One of Todo's men started

"When Britannia strikes back you want to play dead?" A different one finished.

"Zero, perhaps you better clarify what our overall mission is." Diethard told Zero.

"Since no one here's bright enough to figure it out for themselves it seems. You should use small words so that they understand." Rai chirped. The other Black Knights glared at him.

"Our goal is to make Tokyo an independent nation. Which just because you knew doesn't mean it should be obvious to everyone else Akuma." Zero told them, scolding Rai at the end of it.

Rai just grinned as everyone else gasped at Zero's declaration. Everyone began muttering and shouting out their disbelief.

Diethard looked at Zero in wonderment, which made Rai roll his eyes. Diethard said something to himself that Rai ignored.

"Wait a minute!" Ohgi protested. "No matter how much the Black Knights have expanded-."

"Our enemy is an empire who controls one third of the world." A woman said.

"We can't pull that off alone!" Tamaki said.

"Then answer this!" Zero's voice rose above the others. "Are you just going to sit back and watch someone else defeat Britannia?"

"Are you fools too cowardly to fight when the odds aren't all in your favor?" Rai shouted at them, actually putting real emotion into his words. "Do you honestly believe that if you wait long enough that the right time will come?"

"Don't be so naïve!" Zero told them. "If we don't stand up and do it ourselves that someday you want will never come!"

"Now you all heard Zero, we stay out of this one!" Rai said, flourishing his arm out in a Lelouch-like manor.

As the Black Knights dispersed, Zero grabbed Rai's arm.

"Akuma, I need to talk to you." Zero told him. Rai nodded and followed Zero to his office in the submarine. After the door was locked behind them, Lelouch took off his mask. "When we fell into that cavern, you shouted 'Scott'." Lelouch stepped closer to Rai, examining him. "Who's Scott?"

Rai ran a hand through his fake hair and sighed.

"Scott's my best friend from back home. He's the reason I'm here. Somehow he befriended your older brother Schneizel…which somehow doesn't surprise me." Rai said. "It's a long story. One that you really don't need to worry yourself about since it won't affect anything that has to do with the Black Knights or any of your world domination plots." Lelouch gave him a light glare at that.

"You don't seem to want me to know anything about you." Lelouch sighed, annoyance in his voice.

"Yeah well, I'm a nuisance like that. It's part of my charm-or so I've been told." Rai said with a grin. Lelouch shook his head and smiled slightly.

"I'm going to observe the battle and C.C.'s coming along with me. I want you to stay here and at least try not to get into trouble, alright? If I need 'Akuma' for anything I'll call you, understand." Lelouch ordered. Rai gave him a mocking bow.

"Yes, Milord." Rai said drily. Lelouch ruffled Rai's hair just to annoy him and then left the room after putting his mask back on.

~Hours later~

Rai was bored out of his skull. He had wondered the halls of the submarine for so long that he actually knew how many paces it took to get from the Mess Hall to Zero's Office and back twenty-one times. He was getting steadily more annoyed with Lelouch's order by the passing minute.

Not to mention the other Black Knights would stare at him whenever he entered the break room. Ohgi and about ten or so others were watching the battle between Britannia and the Chinese Federation on the television.

"Wow, Akuma's acting like a caged wild animal or something." Tamaki muttered to Ohgi.

"I think it's because he doesn't like being in a submarine." Ohgi murmured back.

"He also probably didn't like Zero's order for him to sit put." Someone else said.

"Of course he doesn't. That guy's a murderous lunatic." Another said.

"Oi!" Rai shouted suddenly, finally having enough of their gossiping. "The murderous lunatic wants you all to shut the hell up before there are significantly less members of the Black Knights than there was five minutes ago!"

They all went back to watching the TV. Rai growled darkly under his breath and left the room.

He walked until he reached his quarters, which were separate of the barracks ever since the one time Tamaki had the brilliant idea that he would try to pull a prank on a sleeping Akuma.

…Well the idiot wasn't going to try that again anytime soon…

Rai closed the door behind him and flopped down on the bed. After a few moments of getting comfortable, Rai fell asleep.

~Dream~

_Rai found himself in a long, narrow hallway. He couldn't even see where it ended; it seemed to go on forever. There were lights, candles on small chandeliers on the high ceiling. The silence was deafening in itself. _

_He began walking down the corridor. His footsteps echoed on the tile floor, surrounding him in the sound. _

_The air around him felt damp and cold, as if wherever he was, was underground. That made sense considering that Rai couldn't see any windows. _

_Rai let out a breath and watched the small cloud it became float up and disappear. _

_He then realized, for no reason it seemed, that he was wearing his uniform form Lucifer's All Boys Academy again._

_It seemed like hours that he made his way down the hall. So far he had found no doors. The walls didn't have any change; the brown pattern stayed the same as Rai walked. _

_He began to feel irritated that he didn't appear to be going anywhere. _

_That's when he heard it. He heard a sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. _

_It started out as a low rumble, but slowly defined into a growl._

_Rai looked behind him and gasped at what he saw._

_Two dark green reptilian eyes, each the size of a car tire, stared back at him._

_Rai let out a shriek and ran. He heard the monster give chase, bounding behind him._

"_No, no, I don't want to die!" he cried, running as fast as he could. But he felt as if he were running through water. _

_He felt the creature's breath ghosting his back._

_Rai stumbled and fell to the floor. The thing sank its teeth into his leg-._

"-ai! Rai wake up!"

Rai snapped his eyes open. He saw Lelouch crouched over him. Lelouch's hand was on his leg.

Rai's breaths came out as gasps.

"W-what's going on?" Rai asked. He looked around, unsure as to where he was.

"Rai, the battle's over. I came to get you and go back the Ashford Academy…are you alright?" Lelouch asked. He had a concerned expression on his face.

"Yeah-no…I'm fine." Rai said. He calmed down a bit and got off the bed. Lelouch grabbed his arm before Rai could leave the room.

"Did you have a nightmare or something? You was tossing and turning." Lelouch inquired. Rai frowned. He didn't know what Lelouch was talking about.

"I…I don't remember." Rai admitted. He couldn't recall what had happened in his dream.

Lelouch looked at him for a long moment, and then nodded.

"Let's go back to Ashford then." Lelouch said. Rai didn't say anything, but allowed Lelouch to lead him out of the room.

~The Next Day~

"The terrorism in the Kyushu Block, led by an antigovernment group was stopped by Princess Cornelia's sudden attack." A female news reporter said. "Atushi Sawazaki and some former members of the old Japanese government were arrested. Over half the Chinese Federation troops were captured as well. In response to this incident, Chinese Federation leaders are asserting this was unauthorized action by General Zhao of the Li Ou Dong District and they are requesting that all POW's be released in accordance with the Tibet Convention-."

"Pretty button says 'click'." Rai said, interrupting the television by turning it off. They had been replaying the same bit of news all day so far. He was tired of it.

Before Rai could decide on what to do next, someone knocked on his door.

Rai opened the door and blinked when he saw who it was.

"Hi Rai, um, can I come in?" Suzaku asked.

"Sure." Rai said, smiling at him. Rai opened the door some more and stepped aside so that Suzaku could come in. "How are you?" Rai asked him.

Suzaku looked around the dorm room.

"I'm good. Wow, you really have a room all to yourself?" Suzaku asked, making his way to Rai's bed and sitting on it.

"Yep. Since I was the odd ball out and there was one dorm room empty, I was put here instead of being shoved into an already full room." Rai explained. _I wonder why Suzaku came here. This should be just after he met up with Princess Euphemia right?_ Rai decided not to voice this question. He didn't want to have to explain how he knew that.

There was a slightly awkward silence for a second. "Uh, do you want something to eat? I just the week's shopping the other day." Rai asked Suzaku.

"What do you have?" Suzaku asked. Rai went into his kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Let's see…chocolate pudding, banana pudding, butterscotch pudding, vanilla pudding-." Rai listed off.

"That's a lot of pudding. Are you sure you're not related to Lloyd in some way?" Suzaku teased. Rai stuck his tongue at him childishly.

"There's always the possibility." Rai joked back. "Anyway, there's also carrots, leftover pizza, salad, rice that was made this morning, strawberry yogurt, vanilla yogurt, mango yogurt, blueberry yogurt-I think you get the idea, tomatoes, pickles, cheese, ham, turkey, some leftover beef stew Milly helped me make almost a week ago (I'm not certain if it's any good anymore.), eggs, hotdog, summer sausage-."

"How many people do you feed?" Suzaku suddenly asked. "There's no way that's a week's worth of groceries for one person!" Rai grinned at him.

"You know me Suzaku, I'm always hungry!" Rai told him. Rai went back to looking through the refrigerator, so he didn't see Suzaku's face fall.

"Well, I thought I knew you." Suzaku muttered softly. Rai lifted his head and looked back at Suzaku. He hadn't heard what Suzaku had said.

"What was that Suzaku?" Rai asked. Suzaku shifted his weight on the bed.

"I said I'd like some of that mango yogurt." Suzaku lied. Rai smiled and grabbed it, as well as a large carrot for himself. He also got Suzaku a spoon.

Rai sat next to Suzaku on the bed and handed him his snack. While Rai munched happily on his carrot, Suzaku looked thoughtfully at his yogurt.

When Rai noticed, he tilted his head to the side.

"Eh, what's up doc?" Rai asked, taking another bite of carrot. Suzaku gave him a funny look.

"What?" Suzaku asked. Rai held up a finger while he chewed and swallowed before answering.

"It's just an expression from back home. What's on your mind?" Rai rephrased his question. Suzaku took a deep breath, and then let it out as a sigh.

"Rai," Suzaku started. Rai looked at him while still eating. "Who was that boy you were talking to? You know, after Zero escaped from the island?"

Rai started choking on his mouthful of carrot.

_What the hell? First Lelouch and now Suzaku asking me that question. Why has my personal life suddenly become such a popular subject? _Rai thought. "Oh that guy? He's a friend of mine from my old school. His name's Scott. Why do you ask?"

Suzaku looked off in a different direction.

"N-no reason, I was just, uh, curious, that's all." Suzaku stuttered.

There was another awkward silence. "…It's just that…" Rai frowned slightly at Suzaku. "You two seemed…awfully close, with how he was standing so close to you and such."

Rai couldn't help but snicker a bit. Suzaku gave him a slightly hurt look. "W-what's so funny?" Suzaku demanded.

"Ah, nothing." Rai turned so that he was completely facing Suzaku. "Look, there's nothing…Romantic or anything between me and Scott. He's my best friend. It'd be like you going out with Lelouch."

Suzaku gave him a disturbed look this time.

"Okay, I get your point." Suzaku said. The two of them collapsed into silence, this one a more comfortable one as they ate.

After they were done, Rai decided to bring up the subject of Euphie.

"Hey Suzaku, you are Princess Euphemia's knight, right?" Rai asked. Suzaku hesitated for a moment.

"Well…I agreed to be, but after I disobeyed the order to restrain Zero I told her I couldn't be her knight…And now, just a little bit ago, I agreed again to be her knight." Suzaku said. He sighed.

"Wow, could you be any more indecisive?" Rai said jokingly. Suzaku light punched him in the arm. "…You really care about her, don't you?" Rai observed. Suzaku looked at the floor, blushing slightly.

"I-uh-…Yes. I do." Suzaku admitted. "Being with her, it's like-well it's-um…"

"Like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together?" Rai offered. Suzaku nodded.

"Yeah, exactly!" Suzaku agreed, smiling at Rai. "Do you have someone like that?"

Rai smiled at him as well, although his was a bit forced.

"In a way, I guess…" Rai said. 


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks to BabyLuvs2Write, ZeroPanda, Bright Blade7, chimaera-avon, K. C. C, Frieda, MaviMasochist95, Inferable Hell, Egyptian Neko Thief, xXxSapphireJewelxXx, and LittlexCreature. **

Scott sat with Rai on the roof of the boy's dormitory at Ashford Academy. It was late at night, 10:00pm or so. Scott took a long drag from his cigar (which he had never smoked before, but decided to do so now that he was living on Prince Schneizel's dime.). They both watched the smoke drift out into the air when Scott blew it out.

"Rai, you have to tell him that you like him." Scott said. Rai made an odd squeaking noise.

"Are you nuts?" Rai exclaimed. "He…" Rai looked up at the stars. "He likes Euphie, not me."

Scott elbowed him harshly.

"That does mean jack-shit and you know it." Scott said. "You're just too chicken shit to tell him."

Rai looked down, hugged his knees, and huffed resentfully.

"So? What if he gets offended that another guy likes him?" Rai asked.

"What if he doesn't?" Scott argued. "Rai, if you never tell him, and we get shipped back home, then you will spend the rest of your life-and don't you shake your head at me, I know you-worrying and wondering about 'What if I can spoken up? What if I had told him about my feelings?' You would regret your cowardliness up to the very day you died." Scott took another drag.

Rai gave his friend a glare. Then he sighed.

Scott was right.

"Fine. I'll tell him. But how? And when?" Rai wondered. Scott snickered at Rai's indecisiveness

"Tomorrow at the School Festival will be as good as any day. As for how, you can figure that out all by yourself." Scott told him. Rai nodded. Then he frowned.

"How come you're not going to school, huh?" Rai asked, pouting slightly. Scott smirked at him.

"Being Prince Schneizel's lover tends to be a full-time job. It's a miracle I had time to visit you here." Scott explained. Rai nodded before he understood what Scott had said.

When he did, Rai looked at Scott in horror.

"Wait, you're _what_?" Rai shouted as Scott stood up.

"Look at the time; I've got to go-see ya' Rai!" Scott ran away before Rai could interrogate him.

"Get back here, Scott!"

~The Next Day~

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for waiting!" Milly shouted into the headset. Her voice echoed everywhere. "The Ashford Academy School Festival, which is the most open event in the Tokyo Settlement, is about to start! It will begin at the sound of this noise:"

"Meooow!" Nunnally's voice was heard after a moment.

Rai chuckled lightly. He looked around him, a small smile on his face. It was the one time a year that Britannians and Elevens could get together and forget about prejudices or hate or anything of that manner.

People were milling around the grounds. Some were wearing costumes. The air was filled with music and laughter, as well as the smell of fried foods and sweets.

Rai waved up at Rivalz, who was wearing a chef's hat and moving ingredients around on the large platform.

"Hey Rai, I best this is better than anything back at your old school huh?" Rivalz yelled. Rai laughed.

"You bet!" Rai agreed. "Back home, the School Festival was more like a mix between a sports competition and a Roman gladiator tournament." Rai told him. Rivalz gave him a bothered look.

"Yikes, did you have to participate?" Rivalz asked. Rai shook his head.

"Nope, I was more of a squire for the 'knights'. Usually I helped my friend Scott or one of the Avery Triplets." Rai explained.

"You knew triplets?" Rivalz asked. Rai grinned.

"Yeah, and they are about as different from each other as anyone can be." Rai said. Rivalz shook his head in disbelief and continued with his work.

Rai walked away, passing Nina who was going to talk to Rivalz.

He went to the stalls of the Festival. One stall Rai saw was a 'whack-a-mole' type game, but there were students instead of 'moles'.

Rai couldn't help but try it himself.

"Oh hello Rai." Someone greeted him. Rai glanced away from the game to see Cecile.

"Hey Cecile." Rai smiled at her. "Do you want to try?" He held out the mallet.

Cecile saw one of the students poke his head out. The boy looked a bit like Lloyd.

"Gladly." She said. The tone of her voice scared Rai a bit. Cecile then proceeded to hit the boy who looked like Lloyd over, and over…and over…

Rai continued on his way. He saw Kiyoshi working a stall that was selling rice balls.

"Hi Kiyoshi, can I have a couple of crab rice balls?" Rai asked, pulling out enough money.

"Of course, here you go." Kiyoshi handed him the rice balls. "Having fun so far?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Yep! I can't wait to see the pizza, though." Rai replied.

"Yeah, I wonder what toppings are going to be put on it." Kiyoshi put a finger to his bottom lip as he thought about it. Rai shrugged.

"I'm sure whatever is put on would be good." Rai said. Kiyoshi nodded.

"I suppose you're right. Well, have a good time!" Kiyoshi waved Rai away.

Rai ate a rice ball as he walked.

_I wonder what I should do next. Let's see…there's the haunted house. Meh, I'll do that later. Hey there's a goldfish catching game! I don't think I've actually played that before._ Rai went over to that booth.

"You get three tries for every *** ¥." The person working at the booth said. Rai gave him the money. Rai grabbed one of the scoopers and tried to get a fish.

The paper ripped and the fish fell back into the water.

Rai tried again. He almost got it that time, but the fish flopped and fell off the scooper and back into the water. Rai scowled at the tank with the fish in it.

On his final try, Rai got a fish.

As he continued walking, Rai smiled happily.

"What should I name my new fishie?" Rai asked himself. "Shark? Nah…Tuna? No…Ah, I know! I'll call it Fish." Rai decided. _That was fun, what next? I could get a temporary tattoo. Sure, why not! _

Rai went to the fake tattoo stall.

"Hello," The girl working at the stall greeted. "What kind of tattoo would you like?" Rai looked at the pictures of the tattoos.

"…Why is there one of Lelouch?" Rai asked, pointing at it. The girl giggled.

"You'd be surprised how many fan-girls…and boys, he has." She said. Rai sighed and shook his head. He was most definitely _not_ getting that one.

He saw one that was a crescent moon with sparkling stars surrounding it.

_Well that one's pretty, if a little girly…Oh what the hell. _"I'll get that one." Rai said referring to the tattoo he picked out. He gave the girl the money to pay for it and decided to have it on the back of his neck.

"But no one will be able to see it if you put it there. Your hair's too long." The girl told him. Rai looked at the hair that was starting to get into his eyes. She was right, it had been a while since the last time Rai had his hair cut.

"Oh well, if I want to show someone, then I'll just lift my hair up." Rai said. The girl shrugged.

"If you say so." She mumbled.

Afterwards Rai walked away from the stand. He ate the other rice ball in a few bites.

_I think I'll go to the haunted house._ Rai looked around, trying to remember where it was. He wandered until he finally reached it.

As Rai looked at the entrance, he began to have second thoughts. _I never do well with scary things…Last time I watched a scary movie I had trouble sleeping for a week…C'mon Rai, it's a haunted house done by a bunch of high school students. It's couldn't possibly be _that _scary….I hope…_

Rai shook his head, hoping to get rid of the thoughts he was thinking.

He stood a little straighter, lifted up his head, and marched into the haunted house.

The first thing he saw was…nothing. It was complete darkness around him. Rai rolled his eyes. _See? Not very scary now is it? _Rai stumbled over something and grasped a railing.

"_Rai…__" _Rai thought he heard someone whisper his name.

_Okay, that's a little creepy…_ Rai decided to ignore it.

He was surprised by sudden flashing light and the cackling of a witch. That made him jump a bit.

"_Rai…__"_ Someone whispered again.

_How are they even doing that? It sounds like it's all around me, so it could be a speaker system._ A fake bat came swinging down and Rai yelped. He side stepped it and continued walking.

"_Rai…__"_ There it was yet again.

_But how would the people in here know my name? It would make sense if they had cameras and could see who I was, but they can't do it with people who don't go to the school or that they don't know. So I doubt that they would do it at all. _

The lights dimmed and changed to a blood red color. Fog filled the room Rai was in.

"_Rai…__" _Okay, Rai was getting tired of this.

"Hey, whoever you are, that doesn't scare me. So you can-you know-stop it." Rai said. He looked around to see if he could find whoever it was who was saying his name.

Rai couldn't see anyone else in the room. With the fog, however, Rai was having trouble seeing his hand in front of his face.

He tried to find the door out of this room, going along the perimeter of the room. Rai didn't even find the door he had entered in through let alone an exit. "Now this is a little creepy." Rai admitted.

He heard a deep chuckle. It sounded too familiar for Rai's liking. "That's it! Show yourself now you bastard!" Rai snarled.

"_Now Rai, that's no way to greet your King,__"_ Rai knew that voice. "Is it?" Rai could fell the person's breath against his ear.

"Derrick!" Rai gasped. He spun around, but there was no one there. Rai's breathing quickened.

"_That's right.__"_Derrick said. His voice echoed around the room. _"__Scott must have screwed up the spell. You were supposed to be back by now. No matter, I'll punish him when the two of you return.__" _The way Derrick spoke of harming Rai's best friend in such an offhanded way made Ra's skin crawl.

"Leave him alone you son of a bitch!" Rai snapped. His hands curled into fists.

"_Why should I? The fool couldn't do as I ordered him to. Failure is inexcusable and must be punished.__" _Derrick told Rai. Rai gritted his teeth.

"The last person I saw you punish was in a coma for a month!" Rai argued. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you do that to Scott!" Rai paused when he thought of something. "How am I even talking to you right now?"

Derrick materialized in front of Rai. He was a teenage boy of medium height with raven black hair and the darkest green eyes Rai had ever seen. Derrick was wearing the school uniform for Lucifer's All Boys Academy.

Derrick held up a crystal. It was glowing blood red.

"Scott gave me this. It gives me the ability to bring someone with me to a middle ground of sorts. An 'In between Universe' if you will." Derrick explained.

"But I thought we were in the haunted house." Rai said.

"Not at the moment. Unfortunately, I am unable to use this crystal to take you with me back home. Once I am done talking with you, you will be sent back to where you were before I summoned you." Derrick frowned slightly as he spoke. "Perhaps I should've ordered Scott to make it work differently. That way even if you got trapped there, it would be easy to retrieve you."

Rai glared at him.

"Maybe if you didn't order Scott to try to make me listen to you, we wouldn't be in this situation at all!" Rai pointed out. Derrick scowled at Rai. He walked closer until they were almost nose to nose. It took all of Rai's willpower not to punch to arrogant bastard right in the face.

"Why won't you obey me? It's not like I try to make you do anything difficult." Derrick asked softly, watching Rai. Rai snorted.

"No, you _only_ keep ordering me to be your freaking _boyfriend_!" Rai exclaimed. Derrick gave him an honestly confused look as Rai backed away from Derrick.

"Exactly." Derrick said. "I don't see what's so upsetting about that."

Rai stared at him for a moment. Derrick was serious-he really didn't know what was wrong with commanding someone to date another person.

Rai couldn't help it; he began laughing.

"Y-you heh ha, honestly have no c-clue do you!" Rai laughed. Derrick expression turned cold. Rai stopped laughing. "Derrick, you can't just tell everyone what to do and expect them to do so without hesitation or at all for that matter." Rai told him. "I know you grew up with everybody around you serving your every whim, but in case you didn't notice, I'm not one of them. I'm my own person and I'm not going to let you rule over my life just because you want to. And I'm most definitely not going to date you just because you _tell_ me to."

Derrick mulled over this information.

"All of that doesn't make sense to me." Derrick finally said. Rai sighed. "Nor is it important. I will not stop until you surrender to me."

Rai wondered how someone could say such a thing so matter-of-factly.

"Derrick, that's never going to happen." Rai said firmly. Derrick smirked. The fog began to disperse.

"_We'll see about that…__"_Derrick disappeared with the smoke.

Rai looked around. He was standing near the exit of the haunted house.

_Strange, I didn't even get to see Kallen. Derrick must have returned me in a slightly different spot than where I was. _Rai sighed once again and left the haunted house.

The moment Rai stepped outside someone grabbed by the upper arm.

"Rai, you are coming with me to see this giant pizza that the students are making." C.C. said. To Rai's surprise she had somehow gotten a hold of a girl Ashford Academy uniform.

C.C. dragged Rai along with her.

"Don't I have any say in this?" Rai asked.

"Of course you don't. It's not as if you were doing anything of importance." C.C. answered.

It took them only a minute or so to find Lelouch, since Rai had told C.C. that the pizza hadn't been made yet.

"He's not going to be happy to see you running around, you know that right?" Rai pointed out. C.C. glanced at him.

"I can do as I please. Lelouch is not my master." C.C. told him. C.C. stopped when she saw Lelouch.

Lelouch was standing in front of a bench, apparently talking to Cecile. "Hey you," C.C. called out in a bored tone. Lelouch flinched at the sound of her voice.

"Boy, where are we supposed to go to eat the biggest pizza in the world?" C.C. asked, although it sounded more like an order.

Lelouch turned to see them. He did _not_ look pleased. "Oh, so you're here." C.C. said, faking ignorance.

Rai smiled weakly, waving at Lelouch with the arm that C.C. still had a death grip on.

Lelouch politely excused himself from Cecile. He then grabbed C.C. by her other arm and dragged her along with him as he quickly went to where the ingredients of the pizza were stored.

Rai was dragged along as well, since C.C. didn't bother to let go of him.

Where they were out of sight of other people, C.C. sat down on the floor while Lelouch towered over her. Rai almost got away except Lelouch glared at him so fiercely that Rai just stood where he was.

"We were just asking about the pizza." C.C. said.

"She was, I really don't -." Rai was interrupted when Lelouch ignored him.

"I'll bring you some later C.C. now go back to your room." Lelouch ordered.

"I don't believe you. You're a liar." C.C. said.

"I'm not going to lie to you over a _pizza_." Lelouch snapped in annoyance.

"Well I wouldn't put it past you." Rai put in his two cents. Lelouch looked at him, changing who he was more irritated with.

"Why did you even go along with her? You know that there news reporters and the general public out there." Lelouch asked.

Before Rai could tell him that C.C. wouldn't have listened to him, the doors opened and they hear voices.

"So why did you come to the school?" Rai recognized Kallen's voice.

"Oh, that was my fault." Rai didn't know who it was; he had forgotten what had happened at this part in the show. He knew it was female.

"Who are you anyway?" Kallen asked the woman. "You're defiantly not an Eleven."

"This is ah…" Ohgi's voice was heard. He seemed not know the woman's name. "She's my…"

Lelouch turned and walked out into the open, leaving Rai and C.C. in their hiding place.

"Kallen, authorized personnel only, could you get them out of here now?" Lelouch asked Kallen.

There was silence.

"What do you think is happening-?" Rai asked C.C. in a whisper. Before he could finish his question the door opened again. This time they heard Shirley. "Why the hell is everyone coming in here?" Rai muttered his complaint. C.C. shrugged.

The two of them quickly hid behind a shelving unit as Kallen pushed Ohgi and the woman he was with into their sights. Lelouch went over to C.C. and Rai, picking up his laptop that he had left there.

"Couldn't you use Geass on them?" C.C. asked Lelouch.

"It would be a bad idea to use it on Ohgi or the woman with him. And I've already used Geass on the other people here." Lelouch told her.

"Maybe if you didn't use your Geass on people willy-nilly then you wouldn't have that problem now would you!" Rai hissed at Lelouch.

"That doesn't matter right now!" Lelouch said. "C.C., you have to figure out how to get out of here without anyone seeing. Rai, you help her."

Shirley had heard Lelouch's voice.

"Lelouch, is that you? I need to ask you about something." Shirley said. Rai could hear her footsteps getting closer. Lelouch stood up and went to her.

"Can it wait? I have to run the Festival." Lelouch told her.

"What are you talking about? You're never around anyway-." Shirley tried to argue. C.C., with Rai's reluctant help, shoved the shelving unit as hard as she could. A female voice suddenly screamed.

"Rai, let's go." C.C. said, dragging Rai with her…again. A pink cloud of smoke filled the room and the two of them used it to make their escaped. They ran until they were hiding behind the school's main building. "Well, I suppose I'll see you later." C.C. bid Rai farewell.

"What, you're not going to stick around and watch them make the pizza?" Rai asked. C.C. shook her head.

"I've caused Lelouch enough trouble for today. Make sure to bring me a slice when their done, I don't trust Lelouch to do so." C.C. said, turning her back on Rai and walking away. Rai chuckled slightly.

~A Few Minutes Later~

Rai stood, along with hundreds of other people, and watched Rivalz stand on top of the monstrously huge oven that had been built specially for baking the record breaking pizza.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a big announcement!" Rivalz shouted into his head set. "Today we have a special guest singer here to celebrate our awe-inspiring pizza!"

Rai had a bad feeling about this. "He's been number one on the charts since his mysterious appearance months ago. Everybody give a warm welcome to Scott Daemon!" The moment Scott's name came out of Rivalz mouth; the crowd erupted in cheers and fan-girlish screams.

Rai prayed that whatever deity that was finding his misery amusing would just finish him off now.

"Uh, is this guy a popular singer or something?" Rai asked Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi (Who was jumping up and down and shouting 'Ohmygod it's _him_!') gave Rai a look as if Rai had just said something horrible.

"You haven't heard of him?" Kiyoshi gasped. "Scott Daemon might be new singer, but _everyone's _heard of him! How could you not?" The last part sounded oddly accusatory.

"I don't know much about popular culture. Not something I'm very interested in." Rai told him. _Full-time job my ass! That obnoxious lying bastard, when I get my hands on him... _Rai glared at Scott when Scott stood next to Rivalz.

"How's everybody doing?" Scott greeted the crowd. There was a deafening cheer. "Cool, now before I start, I just have to give a shout out to my buddy-!"

_He wouldn't _dare. Rai thought glaring even darker as Scott made eye-contact with him. Rai mouth the word 'no' and shook his head. "-Rai Bakura!" Scott finished, waving at Rai.

_Every single person_ stared at Rai. Rai felt his right eye twitch slightly.

"I thought you said you never heard of him!" Kiyoshi said jealously.

"I said that I didn't know he had become a famous singer." Rai said with a strained sounding voice. "He fought to mention that part."

"Rai~ Come on up!" Scott shouted.

"Only if you drop dead." Rai muttered with a smile. Someone pushed him from behind. Rai sighed, and then made his way to where Scott and Rivalz were.

"You never told me you knew the _Scott Daemon_!" Rivalz said when Rai reached them. He was pouting a little. Rai crossed his arms and continued to glower at Scott.

"I really hate you sometimes." Rai told his friend. Scott smiled brightly at him.

"Ah yes, but that's not _all_ the time now is it?" Scott countered. He turned back to the crowd, ignoring Rai's growled swearing (much of which insulted Scott's mother). "Now we're ready to have some fun!" The crowd roared happily in reply.

Then Scott began to sing. It wasn't a song from back home-at least not one Rai recognized. Scott was actually a great singer. Unlike Rai, who's singing, Scott said was just below ear-splitting…barely.

The song itself wasn't that remarkable. It was catchy (Rai was going to kill Scott if it got stuck in his head) but it was generic and didn't seem to have much personality. Rai was fairly certain that Scott wasn't the one who wrote it. Scott's songs (and poems for that matter) usually had some very dark humor in them. The song Scott was singing was just…to cheerful and preppy to be something Scott-like.

When Scott was finished singing, he bodily dragged Rai off the oven with him. Rivalz told the crowd that the ingredients were prepared and that it was time to start making the pizza.

"Where are you taking me?" Rai demanded as Scott pulled him into a large tent surrounded by body guards.

"Well since I can't sit with the crowd and watch the proceedings (it would cause a commotion if I did), we're going to watch from my tent!" Scott explained with a grin, pointing at the large flat screen TV in the room.

It was streaming the festival live. Rai could see Suzaku in the Knightmare tossing the pizza crust into the air. "And don't give me that look." Scott then pointed his finger in Rai's face because of Rai's expression. "You get free food so no complaining!" Rai saw the multiple coolers full of sodas and different kinds of junk food.

"…Alright." Rai surrendered. Scott almost skipped to the couch, chattering about how easy it was to bribe Rai with food. Rai sat down next to him after grabbing a soda and a bag of pretzels.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp in the audience. The camera spun around so quickly it made Rai a little dizzy.

Euphemia was shown on the screen along with Lelouch and Nunnally. "That's not good." Rai grumbled, taking a sip of his soda.

"She should have been more careful not to get caught. Honestly just wearing a hat for a disguise was silly. She could have changed her hair style at least." Scott chastised. Rai couldn't help but agree with her.

"Or wear a headband." Rai muttered wryly. Scott gave him a puzzled look. "It's a long story." Rai said.

On the TV, Lelouch took Nunnally away so that she wouldn't get caught up in the crowd. From the distance that the camera was away from them, Rai could only see their mouths moving, but couldn't hear them.

The crowd began to rush towards Euphemia, even when Suzaku tried to order them to stop. "Princess Euphemia's an even bigger celebrity than you." Rai teased Scott. Scott punched him lightly.

"Aren't you feeling that 'hero' urge of yours? Aren't you going to go off and rescue the princess?" Scott taunted back. Rai took another sip.

"No, not when I would just get in the way. Suzaku can handle it." Rai said.

"Ah that's right, you've actually watched all of the series, haven't you?" Scott asked, putting a finger on his chin in thought.

"Yeah, unfortunately the only thing that's done is been a pain in my ass. I almost wish that I didn't know." Rai sighed.

On TV Suzaku had just lifted Euphemia out of the almost riotous crowd. Euphemia stood in the palm of the Knightmare.

"Could you please now work this broadcast nation-wide?" Euphemia asked the reporter. "I have a very important announcement!" she told the people, standing straight and looking every bit the princess she was. "I am Euphemia, Sub-Viceroy of Area 11 of the Holy Britannian Empire. There is something of great consequence that I wish to tell you all today. I, Euphemia le Britannia hereby declare the formation of the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan in the area surrounding Mount Fuji!"

Crowd buzzed with sound. People were yelling and talking amongst themselves. "Within the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan, Elevens with be allowed to call themselves Japanese. Restrictions against Elevens and special rights for Honorary Britannians will no longer exist within this zone. It will be a place where Elevens and Britannians will live side by side as equals!"

"You go girl." Scott said with a grin.

"That'll piss Zero off." Rai said with an even bigger grin. Scott laughed, knowing Rai meant Lelouch.

"Do you hear me, Zero?" Euphemia asked. "I don't care about your past, nor who you are underneath that mask, I beg you; join us in creating this Special Zone of Freedom." She paused as the crowd got loud for a moment. "Zero, help us create a new future within Britannia and bring peace for everyone!" People in the crowd began to cheer.

"My Zero-senses are tingling…he is very angry." Rai said in a low voice.

"This could either end wonderfully," Scott smirked in a way that Rai found unsettling. "Or it could end _very_ badly." Scott snickered.

"…You worry me sometimes, Scott." Rai sighed.

"That's what I live for." Scott said. He sounded a little too serious to Rai.

**A/N: ** **Oh by the way. I've decided I'm not going to write any smut scenes (One: because I know little to nothing about sex, two: because redbutoon or whatever it is scares me. I'm worried for my brother who also writes fan fics but does his in script form and I heard that it might get him kicked off for writing that way). So do you think I should just change the rating to 'T'? I have a lot of swear words so I'm not so sure.**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thanks to ZeroPanda, and Kiseki no Tenshi.**

**By the way, I know that the first part of this chapter might be confusing. But there's a reason for it. **

The little girl snarled in anger. Oh how they hated that _boy._

"He dares-that disgusting little _bastard_-dares to disrupt our order! Why won't he just _die_?" she slammed her fist into the console in front of her. The screens around her flickered for several seconds while she tried to calm herself. "Our plan to get rid of him is not working! Kururugi isn't attached to him enough, neither is Lamperough."

The girl ran a hand through her short brown hair. "How else could we kill him? If we don't end him soon, he'll mess everything up!" She sneered at a screen to her right when it showed a picture of the boy they despised.

In the picture, Rai was dozing off during a Student Council meeting and Milly was drawing on his face with marker.

"Perhaps we need to see this from a different perspective." The girl muttered to herself.

There was a pink glow coming from the girl. It turned into a blinding light. When the light disappeared, a teenage boy with dark brown hair stood next to her.

"What do we want?" He asked in annoyance.

"We need our opinion on the nuisance." The young girl told him. He stared at her for a moment.

"Well, she's an annoying loud-stomping monster-." He tried to say.

"We're not talking about this form you idiot!" she yelled. "Besides, you and I are one in the same. If you insult this form, you insult yourself!" she reminded him. The teenager snorted.

"Then aren't we talking to ourselves?" he ridiculed. She glared at him.

"Shut up! Now stop being an ass! We need to destroy Rai Bakura before he becomes an even bigger problem! Just by his being here, even when he doesn't purposefully try to change anything-things just change themselves!" The girl said. The boy rolled his eyes.

"Then why don't we just 'reject' him?" he pointed out.

"Don't you think we haven't already tried that?" the girl growled. "Whatever spell it was that his little friend used to bring them here is interfering. No matter how much power we put into 'reject' it only sent him back momentarily." She explained.

"Then just get one of the characters to kill him." The boy said.

"We've already tried that to!" she exclaimed in irritation. "Mao got attached to Rai instead when we tried to influence him. We've also tried to influence Lelouch himself into putting the Rai in dangerous situations. _But the piece of shit just won't die!_" The girl fumed. The teenager rolled his eyes.

"Then just kill him ourselves, with our own hands." He said. The little girl blinked at him.

"What?" she asked. She frowned in thought. "That could work, as long as none of the characters see us…" She smiled sweetly at the boy. A smile that did not fit the topic they had been discussing.

~Meanwhile, with Rai~

Rai straightened out the sleeves of his Black Knights jacket. Lelouch had ordered him to go with him to the ceremony as 'Akuma'.

He looked at himself in the mirror and took a shuddering breath. Rai could see Scott roll his eyes behind him. Rai turned and gave him an annoyed look. Scott smiled at him from his position on the couch.

The two of them were in Scott's private trailer, which was the size of two mobile homes put together.

"What are you so worried about? Your plan should be easy to do." Scott said. "All you have to do is somehow get into the same room as 'Lulu' and Princess Euphemia when they have their discussion. That should be simple since you're escorting Zero." Scott suddenly smirked at something he realized. "Are you stressed about how you're basically going act like the Black Knight version of Suzaku?" Scott asked.

Rai shook his head.

"No, that's Kallen's job." Rai told him. Scott hummed thoughtfully for a moment. It sounded like one of his hit songs…which Rai found annoying.

"Let's see…After you get into the room, all you have to do is stop Lelouch from accidently using Geass on Euphemia somehow." Scott grinned in amusement. "However, I suggest that you don't just step in front of Euphemia with your eyes open. Since we're not sure if you're immune to all Geass or if the whole thing with Mao was a freak onetime thing, it'd really suck for you to go on a killing spree and have to be put down like a dog." The look on Scott's face didn't match his words. He seemed to think the idea of that happening would be hilarious.

Rai scowled at him.

Scott paused. He lowered his head so that his hair covered his face. Rai could hear Scott giggling to himself. "So that's it, isn't it?" Scott said between giggles. "You're scared that the same thing might happen that happened during the hotel-jacking?"

Rai's face went pale. He felt suddenly cold.

"Shut up Scott." Rai warned. He didn't want to hear what Scott was going to say next.

"You're scare that you might kill someone? Who I wonder? Euphemia," Scott looked up at Rai with cruel eyes. "Or Lelouch-?"

"Shut the fuck up Scott!" Rai shouted, his hands curled into fists. Scott burst into loud laughter.

Rai was right in front of Scott in an instant. He grabbed the front of Scott's expensive shirt and lifted his supposed friend to eye level. "If you don't stop right now-!"

"You'll do what, exactly?" Scott asked, unperturbed by Rai's rage. There was silence.

Rai released Scott and collapsed onto the couch, sitting next to Scott and hugging his legs.

"I…" Rai muttered quietly. "I did my best to forget about that. How I shot that guy. It happened so fast-it was as if my body moved all by itself. I don't remember actually thinking 'I have to shoot this guy'. I just…" Rai hid his face in his knees. "I just killed him. There was no hesitation…" Rai whispered. He let his legs fall off the couch and sat up a little straighter. "There was a book I read a few years ago. It was basically Macbeth, only from the point of view of some girl-I don't remember exactly who she was…Anyway, there was one part where Lady Macbeth started going crazy. She kept washing her hands, washing them until they were raw. She kept talking to herself as well, saying that there was blood-a spot of it or something-on her hand, but no matter what she did it wouldn't go away." Rai stared at his hands. "When I first read that part, I didn't understand it very well. But now…I believe I understand now-."

That's when, out of nowhere, Scott punched Rai. Hard. Rai actually fell over the arm of the couch and crashed onto the floor.

When Rai opened his eyes, he looked up to see Scott towering over him. It was the first time Rai ever saw Scott look so angry.

"Don't give me that crap!" Scott snapped. "Unlike Lady Macbeth, the guy you killed wasn't an innocent person! He had held _innocent_ people hostage, he intended to kill anyone who got in his way!"

"So it makes it okay that I killed him?" Rai shot back.

"I wouldn't know that. I'm not exactly a 'law abiding citizen' now am I?" Scott said drily. "At the moment, you were basically a soldier right?" Rai shrugged. "Isn't it a soldier's duty to protect their commanding officer? Even if their commanding officer is an insane murdering bastard themselves, a soldier shouldn't just sit back and watch them die."

"But I _knew_ that Zero was going to use Geass on him! I knew that Zero wasn't going to be killed. My actions were pointless!" Rai argued. Scott sighed in frustration.

"Then I guess you're an evil murdering son of bitch." Scott said. "If that's how you want to see yourself, then I can't stop you. However," Scott turned away from Rai. "I still think that's a load of crap. I've known you for years, Rai. You're not the kind of person who would-hell who even _could_-kill someone mercilessly. That's why you want to save Euphemia, right?" Rai nodded, even though Scott couldn't see it. "A homicidal maniac wouldn't want to save someone life, now would they?"

Rai slowly stood up, rubbing the side of his face where a large bruise was forming.

"I…you're right." Rai sighed. Scott looked back at him and smiled cheerfully.

"I know~" Scott chirped. Rai rolled his eyes and shoved Scott lightly. "Now let's see what we can do about that shiner that I gave you." Scott dragged Rai to the makeup filled vanity across the room.

~Later~

Rai swore mentally as he clung to the shoulder of Zero's new Knightmare. Lelouch himself was on the opposite shoulder, but for some reason he wasn't having nearly as much trouble as Rai was.

"Hey Rai, I have a question." Zero said. His voice coming from the ear piece Rai was wearing. It made Rai feel as if he were an FBI agent or something. Rai wonder what it was that Lelouch wanted to know. "Who hit you?" If Rai didn't know any better, he would have thought there was a bit of an edge to that question.

"Oh, Scott and I got into a bit of a fight earlier. It was nothing important." Rai assured Lelouch. "Is the bruise really that easy to see?" Rai hoped not. Scott had put layer upon layer of cover up on Rai's face. Now Rai knew how it felt to be a clown.

"No, it's not. I'm sure that no one will be watching you close enough to notice it." Lelouch said.

_Then why even bring it up?_ Rai grumbled silently.

"We're there." C.C. told Rai through the ear piece. Rai looked ahead and saw the stadium.

Rai's unsteady nerves made his stomach clench. He did his best to ignore his anxiousness and forced an 'Akuma' grin on his face.

The entire stadium turned and looked at them.

"Couldn't we have made a less…dramatic entrance?" Rai complained under his breath. Even though Lelouch heard him, Rai's question was ignored.

When they got close enough, Euphemia greeted them.

"Zero welcome to the Specially Administrated Zone!" She spread her arms wide in a gesture of welcome.

"Greetings, Euphemia Li Britannia!" Zero shouted. Rai hid a flinch, since Zero's voice was amplified in his ear. "I wish to request an audience with you."

Rai tightened his grip on the Knightmare and clenched his teeth.

"Just with me?" Euphemia asked.

"Yes, with you alone." Zero confirmed. Euphemia agreed. C.C. moved the Knightmare, landing it behind the stadium. After Zero and Rai got off of the Knightmare and made their way to the G1, a security guard searched them for weapons. When it was Rai's turn, the security guard didn't bother to search him.

"Please remove all of your weapons, Mr. Akuma." The guard ordered politely.

"Oh my, I suppose my reputation precedes me." Rai said happily. He took out all of the weapons he was holding and put them in a pile next to the guard.

…it was a rather sizeable pile…

"It appears to be safe, your highness." The security guard said, scowling at the pile for a moment before looking at Euphemia.

"…Where exactly were you keeping that one?" Suzaku couldn't help but ask, pointing to the katana that Rai had gotten recently.

"I'm not sure you want the answer to that, Mr. Knight." Rai said. Suzaku glared at him.

"Then this way, please." Euphemia said, about to lead Zero into the G1.

"Princess," Both Suzaku and Rai said at the same time. Suzaku gave Rai a puzzled look.

"It's too dangerous to be alone with this man." Suzaku continued what he was saying.

"Then you're going to hate what I want to ask." Rai said with a smile. Euphemia looked at Rai expectantly. "I was wondering if I might tag along." Rai told her. Both Zero and Suzaku made surprised noises at this.

"…Of course Akuma. I don't see why not." Euphemia said.

"What?" both Zero and Suzaku almost yelled.

"He's as bad as Zero!" Suzaku argued.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zero hissed so that only Rai could hear. Rai didn't respond.

"I promise on the life of…how about Zero here," Rai jabbed a thumb at Lelouch. "That I won't attack Princess Euphemia Li Britannia in any way, shape, or form." Rai promised.

"Considering how you said that, I don't trust you." Suzaku said.

"Well, I believe that he will uphold his promise. Now if you'll excuse us, Suzaku." Euphemia said. She smiled softly at Suzaku. "It's alright. Nothing's going to happen to me." She told him.

Even though it was obvious that he didn't want to, Suzaku allowed Rai and Zero to talk with Euphemia alone.

They entered the G1 and followed Euphemia into a private office. Zero turned off everything electronic except the emergency lights on the floor.

"You're being awfully careful, even though the cameras are off aren't you?" Euphemia said, smiling at her brother.

"I've been in hiding for a long time due to a certain Empire I'm afraid." Lelouch said as he took his mask off. He pointed a gun at Euphemia.

Rai tensed slightly. "This is a nettle gun made from ceramic and bamboo." Lelouch explained. "It can't be picked up on a metal detector."

"Lelouch, you would never shoot me, would you?" Euphemia asked. She didn't sound very worried, though.

"I certainly hope he doesn't try…" Rai muttered. Lelouch looked at him.

"So that's why you wanted to be with us. You were worried that I'd kill her? I would never do that, Rai." Lelouch turned back to Euphemia. "You'll be doing the shooting, Euphie." Lelouch said.

Euphemia looked at Lelouch in confusion. "This ceremony is being broadcasted globally and the world is going to witness you, a Britannian princess, shot Zero." Lelouch explained. "What do you think will happen next?"

"Rioting would break out, I'd imagine." Euphemia answered.

"Right," Lelouch pulled down the cloth that was over his mouth and nose. "Zero would become a martyr, tricked into a death trap, and instantly your popularity would crash to earth."

"What kind of nonsense are you saying?" Euphemia demanded. "You should just join me to reform Japan."

"If you force it upon us from up high then you'll be as bad as Clovis was." Lelouch told her. "All tasks at hand have been cleared. After hovering near death, Zero will be met with cheers when he makes a miraculous recovery. Because people don't give a damn about reason, but can't resist miracles." He held out the gun for Euphemia to take.

As Lelouch had been talking, Rai had slowly inched closer to them.

_If I time this right, all I'll have to do is cover Euphemia's eyes and then Lelouch's power won't work. That doesn't require me to look at Lelouch, so I don't have to worry about the Geass hitting me instead. _Rai thought.

"Now, take the gun." Lelouch told Euphemia. Euphemia looked at him like he was loony. "There can be only one Messiah, you understand, and when the people realize that you're a false one they'll-." Lelouch suddenly gasped in pain, dropping the gun and covering his right eye. He fell to his knees.

"Lelouch!" Euphemia exclaimed, kneeling down to help him. Lelouch knocked her away.

"Stop that! Stop giving me your pity!" Lelouch growled, standing up and walking away from her. Rai quickly went to Euphemia's side. "Spare me your charity!" Lelouch snarled.

"Calm the hell down Lelouch!" Rai snapped at him. Lelouch glared at Rai then continued shouting at Euphemia.

"This is something I have to do on my own. And for that, I'll stain your hands with blood Euphemia Li Britannia!" Lelouch uncovered his right eye. Rai lashed out, sweeping his foot and kicking Lelouch in the back of both knees.

"You stupid bastard!" Rai roared at Lelouch. Lelouch looked up at him; his right eye had stopped glowing. "Think before you do such things!" Lelouch looked as if he was going to say something but suddenly Euphemia spoke up.

"Euphemia Li Britannia is no long my name," Euphemia announced. "I renounce it." The two boys stared at her.

_Oh yeah, I forgot about that part…_ Rai thought. Euphemia stood up, along with Lelouch.

"There'll be a formal announcement issued from the Homeland about it any day now." Euphemia said. "But I've given up my claim to the throne."

"But why?" Lelouch asked, clearly confused. "It isn't because you accepted Zero is it?"

"Of course, I have to pay the price for doing something so selfish, those are the consequences." Euphemia told him with a calm smile. Lelouch looked away from her.

"Yes, but it wasn't difficult for you to give that up, was it?" Lelouch asked softly. "And I suppose you did it for my sake." He said it with a bit of an angry edge. Euphemia actually giggled a bit.

"As conceited as you ever were." Euphemia teased. "But no, I did it for Nunnally." Lelouch looked at her in surprise. "She told me herself, 'All I want is to be with my brother, and that's all that matters. I want nothing more'." Euphemia quoted Nunnally.

"For that petty reason?" Lelouch wondered.

"That's right, Lelouch. That's how I made up my mind." Euphemia said. "It made me stop and seriously reflect on what's truly important to me in life. Do you understand now? I'm not giving up anything that has significant meaning or real worth to me." Lelouch closed his eyes for a moment while Euphemia kept talking. "And you don't need to worry, I won't tell anyone about you." A strange sound escaped Lelouch's lips.

He began laughing.

_Why do I know so many people who burst into laughter for creepy and/or strange reasons? _Rai wondered.

"And Cornelia?" Lelouch asked suddenly, making Euphemia and Rai jump.

"It's not like we'll never see each other again." Euphemia said.

"Euphie, you are a fool." Lelouch told her. "An amazing fool."

"You're one to talk." Rai scoffed quietly. Lelouch still heard him and gave him an annoyed look.

"I know I'm not as smart as you, Lelouch." Euphemia admitted. "I've never been able to beat you at games or studies. However-."

"However," Lelouch repeated. "In your usual rash Euphie-fashion you've managed to winning all of it." Lelouch told her. "When I think of you I don't imagine a Sub-Viceroy or a princess, I only see the plain little Euphie that you used to be."

"Then will you join 'plain little Euphie' and help her?" Euphemia asked, holding out her hand to Lelouch.

Lelouch frowned at her.

"You are…you are the worst opponent I've ever faced." Lelouch said seriously. But he grasped her hand anyway. "You win."

Rai laughed, trying to sound amused rather than the relief he felt. Euphemia actually looked surprised that Lelouch had agreed. "I'll amend my plans to help out your special zone." Lelouch said. Rai and Euphemia shared a gleeful smile. "But not as your subordinate, alright?"

"Alright!" Euphemia readily agreed. "Though you haven't got much faith in my, have you?" she asked. "Did you honestly believe that by simply threatening me that I would shoot you?"

"Oh, no you've got it all wrong." Lelouch said. "When I really want people to follow my orders they will not resist me."

"As full of himself that sounds, he isn't lying." Rai piped up. Lelouch gave him another irritated look.

"Whether it is to shot me, or to grant pardon to Suzaku, or any order at all…" Lelouch said. Euphemia looked as if she didn't quite believe him. "I'm serious, for example-."

_Shit! This is the when he-!_ Rai didn't allow himself to finish that thought; he went to cover Euphemia's eyes.

Suddenly the room was bathed in pink light.

"We cannot allow you to do that, Rai Bakura." A voice said. It sounded like a little girl's. Rai felt as if he had heard it before.

The light disappeared. Standing a small distance away way.

"Sakura Kinomoto?" Rai exclaimed. "From Card Captor Sakura? What the hell's going on?" Rai pointed at the little girl. "Hey do you two see her-?" Rai looked at Lelouch and Euphemia and gasped.

The two of them weren't moving, they were frozen in place like wax sculptures. Rai faced Sakura and glared at her. "What did you do to them?" he demanded.

Sakura sneered at him, an expression that didn't fit the character at all.

"We froze time momentarily." She said, as if it were obvious. "And our name's not Sakura Kinomoto. That is simply the form that we've chosen at this moment."

Rai paused, blinking at her.

"So…you're cosplaying?" Rai asked uncertainly. This made 'Sakura' annoyed.

"No!" She snapped. Rai suddenly frowned.

"Why do you keep saying 'we' anyway? Are there more people and I just can't see then?" Rai looked around, trying to find another person in the room.

"There is only this form in the room with you." 'Sakura' said, sounding as if she was getting impatient.

"Then…do you have that multiple personality disorder or something?" Rai asked.

"We call ourselves us for that is what we are!" 'Sakura' shouted. Rai blinked at her.

"That doesn't help…at all." Rai said. 'Sakura' sighed in annoyance.

"This form holds more than one soul. It holds four to be exact." 'Sakura' explained.

"Exactly-Multiple Personality-."

"Not the same!" the girl snapped. "Would it help if we told you our name?" she asked, her eye twitching a bit. Rai nodded with a frown. "Our name is CLAMP." She told him.

Rai didn't say anything at first. But then he burst into laughter.

"C-CLAMP?" Rai gasped in between bouts of laughing. "Are you seriously saying that you're a group of Japanese women? I could've sworn that each of them had their own bodies!" Rai almost fell to the floor laughing.

"We order you to hold your tongue!" CLAMP yelled. This only made Rai laugh harder. "We've had enough of this! We shall just kill you now and get it over with!"

Rai stopped laughing.

"Wait…what?" Rai asked.

CLAMP smirked. She held out her hand and there was the pink glow again. Kurogane's sword from the beginning of Tsubasa Chronicles appeared in her hand. "Oh shit." Rai said, now wishing that he didn't have to give his weapons to the security guard.

He lunged for the gun that was still on the floor. It actually flew away from him and into CLAMP's hand.

"No, this time you will die." CLAMP told him. "We will not allow you to alter this reality more than you already have. We must stop you before you cause a permanent change."

CLAMP pointed the gun at Rai. Rai's breath caught in his throat.

The door suddenly slammed open. Scott ran into the room.

"Rai! Everyone's frozen for…some…reason." Scott looked to the gun in CLAMP's hand then to Rai (who was still on the floor from lunging at the gun.), and back again. "Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Scott growled.

CLAMP looked at him coldly.

"Ah yes. We had forgotten about you." CLAMP said in a bored tone. "No matter, we'll deal with you after we get rid of the real problem." CLAMP looked at Rai. Rai glared at her.

"Wait, who's 'we'?" Scott asked. CLAMP growled.

"Not this again!" CLAMP said, exasperated.

"Long story short: That's CLAMP-yes I mean _the _CLAMP-and no, I don't know why they're in one body." Rai told Scott. "And apparently, they really want me dead."

"I'm not going to let that happen." Scott said, taking a step towards CLAMP.

Suddenly, Scott was tied up with the pipe-fox from XXX-Holic. Scott fell backwards and hit his with a crack.

"Now we can finally kill you." CLAMP said. Rai closed his eyes, not wanting the last thing he saw to be the barrel of a gun.

He thought about everyone he knew. All of his friends, family-he even thought of Derrick. However, the one person he would miss the most would be…

_Suzaku…_ Rai thought, his heart felt as if someone was squeezing it.

"Pulling that trigger would be terminal to your health." Someone said. Rai opened his eyes.

Derrick was standing in between him and CLAMP. The lights in the room were now blood red.

CLAMP scowled at Derrick in confusion.

"Where did you come from? We did not see you enter the room." CLAMP pointed the gun at Derrick instead. Derrick smirked.

"That is because I did not enter the room. I pulled Rai and yourself out of it and into a fake one." Derrick told her. Rai looked and saw that he was right. There was no one else in room other than the three of them.

"Impossible." CLAMP refused to believe it, even though she noticed the same thing Rai had. "And if it's true, it doesn't matter. We will simply kill you first, and then Rai Bakura."

"No, you won't." Another voice said. Aden Avery, Derrick's cousin and body guard, appeared behind CLAMP and held a jagged dagger to her throat. He had long black hair that went to his lower back and dark brown eyes. "You even _breathe_ in a way King doesn't like and I get to slit your throat." Aden grinned as if that would be the most fun thing to do at the moment.

"Dear cousin, please try to keep your creepiness down to a tolerable level?" Samantha, Derrick's little sister and other body guard appeared a little distance away and was pointer her favorite pistol at CLAMP.

"How are you people appearing here?" CLAMP demanded.

"I can bring people with me to this in between place." Derrick told her. CLAMP snarled at him in a language Rai didn't know. "It's not nice to call people names." Derrick chided her. Apparently he knew that language.

CLAMP turned her glare to Rai.

"I'll get you-!" She tried to say.

"And his little dog to? If you call Rai 'my pretty' I'm going to gag." Samantha sneered. CLAMP growled.

"I might not be able to stop you from changing this reality, but I will make you regret everything you've done! One of these days, you're friends won't be there to save you! That day will be the day you die!" CLAMP shouted at Rai.

"Yeah?" Rai asked. He stood up and gave CLAMP a stubborn, strong glare. "Well, not today and not by your hand!" Rai yelled.

CLAMP didn't reply. She disappeared in a pink flash. There was a moment of silence. "…I always wanted to say something cool like that." Rai admitted. Samantha and Aden sighed while Derrick chuckled.

"I suppose that we should be leaving now." Derrick said, turning around and facing Rai. He moved close to Rai (who leaned away from him.) "Rai…until I see you again…Please try not to piss off any more omnipotent beings." Derrick told him with a smile.

Rai gave him an annoyed look and shoved Derrick away.

"No promises." Rai said sarcastically. Derrick cupped Rai's cheek with his hand.

"…Farewell." Derrick bid him goodbye. With that, the Avery children disappeared and the lights went back to normal.

"Rai!" Euphemia exclaimed almost tackling him with a hug. "You're okay!"

"W-what happened?" Rai asked. He looked around and saw Scott grinning at a scowling Lelouch.

"One moment Lelouch was talking about how persuasive he is or whatever, and then the next you're gone and _the_ Scott Daemon was here lying on the floor!" Euphemia explained. Rai rolled his eyes at what Euphemia called Scott. Euphemia release Rai after a moment.

"I think he was trying to tell you about his Geass." Scott corrected her. Lelouch gasped at him.

"How do you-?" Lelouch glared at Rai with betrayal in his eyes.

"Oh don't get upset with Rai about that!" Scott said, lightly pushing on Lelouch's arm. "Rai tells me everything. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul about it-Rai would kill me." Scott told him.

"Except you just told Princess Euphemia." Rai pointed out. Scott waved the comment away with his hand.

"But he was telling her about that any way so what does that matter!" Scott argued. Rai just shook his head and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Lelouch. Scott, even though he is a dumbass a lot of the time, is my best friend. I have a hard time keeping secrets from him." Rai apologized.

"Yeah, Rai even told me about his crush on-!" Scott tried to say.

"Shut up, Scott!" Rai interrupted him, blushing a bit.

"Who do you have a crush on?" Lelouch asked, the way he said it was odd.

"I-uh…Suzaku." Rai squeaked the last part and looked away from the others.

"That's so cute!" Euphemia said cheerfully without hesitation. Rai shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not that big of a deal…Besides, Suzaku likes you, Princess." Rai told her. Euphemia blinked and then pointed at herself.

"Me?" She asked. Rai nodded with a smile.

"Yep, he's nuts about you." Rai told her. Now it was Euphemia's turn to blush.

"What's Geass?" She asked, changing the subject. Lelouch appeared to be uncomfortable.

"Lelouch, you better explain it to her before Scott tries to. He'll make it sound perverted, trust me." Rai told Lelouch. Lelouch scowled at Scott again as Scott nodded in flat out agreement.

"…I don't know much about to be honest. I think what it is, is a power you get when you make a contract with an immortal." Lelouch explained to Euphemia. "Depending on the person, each Geass is different. Mine is that I can command people to do what I say. I met another Geass user who was able to read the minds of people around him."

"However that guy went insane after his power went out of control and he couldn't stop hearing people's thoughts." Rai told Euphemia.

Lelouch frowned for a moment.

"I felt my control over my Geass slip for a moment earlier when I was trying to explain my power to you, Euphie." Lelouch admitted. "If Scott hadn't suddenly disappeared…I think it would have activated itself."

Euphemia looked at her brother worriedly.

"Your power is growing, that's why you almost lost control. Like for instance-in case no one has noticed-your right eye is still glowing." Rai pointed at Lelouch's eye when he said this.

Lelouch covered it in surprise.

"What do we do then?" Euphemia asked.

"I'll get contact lenses later, for now however…Rai, do you have an extra eye patch with you?" Lelouch asked. Rai nodded and pulled one out of his inside jacked pocket. He handed it to Lelouch. "If anyone asks about my eye-."

"I got mad at you for something stupid and threw a pencil at you and it hit you in the eye." Rai offered an excuse.

"That will work, I suppose." Lelouch said. He pulled tied the eye patch on and covered his mouth and nose with the cloth mask. He then put on his Zero mask. "We have a ceremony to attend, I believe." He told everyone. Euphemia and Rai nodded.

Euphemia led the way out of the G1 with Zero behind her and Scott and Rai behind him.

"Why are you even at this ceremony in the first place, Scott?" Rai asked quietly. Scott grinned.

"I was lurking a few blocks away from the stadium at a cute little coffee shop. Suddenly everyone except me stopped moving. I figured it had something to do with the ceremony or that you're bad luck was once again rearing its ugly head, so I decided to check up on you." Scott explained in a whisper.

"…Only you would admit you were 'lurking'…I wonder why you weren't frozen." Rai shook his head. "It might be because the two of us aren't from 'here' so CLAMP wasn't able to 'pause' you like she did everyone else." Rai muttered. Scott shrugged.

"Well, on to this ceremony!" Scott said with a grin. "I'm curious as to how it will end."

Rai looked at Lelouch and Euphemia and smiled.

"Yeah, me too." Rai agreed.


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: First off, I apologize for not updating in sooo long. I've been insanely busy with school work and helping to take care of my little sister. Hopefully I'll be updating regularly again. **

**Also, I just realized that I've been spelling 'Euphy' wrong. Oh well, I think Euphie looks like a cuter way of spelling it and I'm too lazy to go and change how it's spelt in all the chapters.**

**Thanks to Kiseki no Tenshi, CrAzYFaNgUrL01, Blueninja89, WhiteAngel128, Mennis-chan, Anubis9 lord of death, Frieda, Almecestris, kurisuchin45556, SaiSuki, Bright Blade7, Batibeti, and Pikapikaluv.**

Rai felt nervous as they walked out onto the stage. There were so many _people_, and they were all staring at Lelouch, Euphemia, Scott, and Rai. Large groups of people weren't exactly Rai's favorite thing. Thankfully, however, the crowd wasn't really paying attention to Rai himself.

There was an eruption of applause the moment one of the audience members spotted Scott. Rai knew that Scott was the reason the crowd was cheering because people kept waving at him (mostly the girls…though there were a few guys as well) and screaming Scott's name.

Rai rolled his eyes as Scott flashed the crowd a dazzling smile and waved.

"They're probably wondering what on earth a pop-star is doing at such a political event." Rai whispered to Scott, barely moving his lips. It'd look rather odd if a famous singer was buddy-buddy with a terrorist.

"Now that I think of it, how _are_ we going to explain why I'm here?" Scott quietly asked.

"I'm still not sure why you're here, or how you even got into the G1 without anyone seeing you." Zero grumbled in annoyance. Rai was sure that Lelouch was giving him a suspicious look.

"I'm a ninja!" Scott told Zero with a smile.

Suzaku, who chose right then to walk up to them, didn't seem to know what to make of the strange thing that Scott had just said. He decided to simply ignore Scott, and went to Euphemia's side.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Suzaku asked, giving Zero and Rai a suspicious look before turning all of his attention to Euphemia.

Apparently she remembered right then what Rai had said about Suzaku liking her, because she suddenly acted a bit giddy.

"I'm fine, Suzaku." She said, smiling at him with the type of smile that you would have to be a black hearted puppy-killer in order to not be affected by it.

…That is why Rai didn't doubt that Prince Schneizel would be immune to the 'Euphemia Smile'.

The smile that Euphemia gave him made Suzaku visibly relax.

"Aw they make such a cute couple!" Scott gushed. Suzaku scowled at him while Euphemia giggled shyly.

"How about we get back on topic?" Rai suggested. Euphemia nodded at him. She looked at all the people in the stadium.

"Everyone, we have something to tell you!" Euphemia shouted. The crowd quieted, turning their attention to the princess.

"The Black Knights accept the Specially Administrated Zone and will work with the Zone in order to-." Before Zero could even finish his sentence (let alone the undoubtedly long speech that he probably had at the ready) people began making noise. Most were cheering, though there were a few who didn't seem very happy about the announcement.

For a moment Rai thought he saw a flash, but assumed it was someone with a camera.

He was proven wrong, however, when someone in the crowd pointed a gun at Princess Euphemia. For a split second, Rai wondered how someone could have sneaked in with such a large gun.

"Death to Britannia!" the man with the gun bellowed.

"Princess!" Rai yelled. He jumped partially in front of Euphemia.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion after that. Rai saw the man pull the trigger, and the flash as the bullet shot out of the gun. He felt as if someone had driven a red-hot railroad spike through his shoulder with a sledge hammer.

The final thing that Rai noticed, just before falling into unconsciousness, was the gun shot echoing throughout the stadium.

~Bwahahahahah-says CLAMP~

Rai vaguely remembered some things, since he kept darting in between being awake and it's opposite. He thought he remembered someone grabbing him, dragging him away. There were screams of horror…and screams of anger, but Rai couldn't string enough conscious thought together to even think much about it. Rai remembered suddenly being somewhere cramped and hearing Lelouch and maybe C.C. voices. He remembered hearing muted gun fire and explosions.

Then there was darkness again, and this time for quite a while.

~Unfortunately for CLAMP, he isn't dead yet~

When Rai was shot, the bullet didn't just hit him, it went through him…and right into Euphemia. The man with the gun had been wearing street clothes, but at first Suzaku accused Zero of trying to have Euphemia assassinated. However, since 'Akuma' had tried to protect the princess, that it couldn't have been the Black Knights' plan and Zero told Suzaku that. Suzaku believed him, but then one of the Britannian soldiers shot out into the crowd, believing that the 'filthy Elevens' were at fault even if the Black Knights weren't.

Everything went spiraling out of control from there. Suzaku tried to get the soldiers to stop shooting, but they only shot at him. Apparently they believed that he was in on the "assassination plot". Lelouch had decided that since the Britannian seem hell-bent on not listening, that he might as well use the situation to his advantage.

Lelouch ordered the Black Knights to attack the Britannian soldiers and protect the Elevens. He told them all that the Zone was a trap, and that the Britannians had planned all along to murder the Elevens. After the battle Zero had told what was left of the crowd, as well as the Black Knights and the entire world that was watching on television, that Euphemia although having good intentions, was being used as a puppet. That the Princess' idea of a peaceful zone was used instead as a death trap. He said that, while Princess Euphemia's death was unfortunate, at least it forced the Britannians to show their true colors.

Suzaku now believes that everything that happened at the stadium was a plot by Zero to start a war. Euphemia died, the bullet had gone right through her heart and got stuck in her spine.

Rai had been in Lelouch's Knightmare throughout all of the fighting. C.C. had taken care of Rai's gunshot wound the best she could. But Rai didn't get the medical attention he needed until after everything was over. He had been a hair's breath away from death; it was a miracle that he lived.

Rai had lost most of his right shoulder, but the doctors had been able to replace it with a mechanical one.

It had been a few days before Rai could stay awake for more than a couple of minutes. Lelouch had come into the room and explain to Rai that he was in a secret place, since it wouldn't be good to take a Black Knight into a regular hospital. Thankfully the doctors Lelouch had found were supporters of the Black Knights.

When Lelouch had told Rai about his new metal shoulder, Rai had joked that it seemed kind of lame to just have a metal shoulder, instead of having a full metal arm. Of course, Lelouch had no clue as to what Rai was talking about.

Lelouch explained that Rai would be able to have full use of his right arm, luckily, and that they would be able to disguise the shoulder so that it looked normal. However, Lelouch warned Rai that he would have to be careful, because if the fake skin of the shoulder got ripped, someone would be able to see that it was metal, and could come to the conclusion that Rai was Akuma, since everyone had seen 'Akuma' get shot trying to protect Euphemia.

When Rai asked, Lelouch told him that Scott was fine. In fact, the moment Scott saw the gun, he ran back down the hallway they had entered and left the stadium all together. Lelouch said that Scott explained that he didn't like being shot at (considering the numerous times ex-lovers had tried to kill Scott, Rai didn't blame him) so he decided to be somewhere far, far away from the fighting. Lelouch also said that the place that Scott had run to was the _Avalon_, so Scott was perfectly safe.

Lelouch told Rai that now he had from the United States of Japan, and that they were taking over all of Area Eleven. Other revolutionary factions were joining Lelouch's group. The Black Knights were going to take the Tokyo Settlement very soon, at least that's what Lelouch assured Rai.

Right now Rai stood sat on the floor, watching Zero in his throne-like chair. Rai hated how things were going down; it's as if stopping Lelouch from using Geass on Euphemia did nothing at all.

Zero stood up and took a few steps forward.

"Kill Cornelia and the day will be ours!" he told his troops through the head-set in his helmet. "You all have your orders, now be ready. He walked past Rai and C.C. "Diethard, have Todou handle the front line. I'm leaving you in charge."

"Yes, very well Zero." Diethard said.

Rai followed Zero to the door. When the door opened, a little girl with long black hair stood in the door way. Rai didn't remember her name.

"Thank goodness I made it in time." The little girl said. "That was so mean of you!" She scolded Zero. "The way you headed off to battle without me. I've been a _huge_ fan of yours, ever since your big debut!"

Rai really wished he could see the look on Lelouch's face. "I was hoping that I'd finally get to talk to you…" She paused for a moment. "Wow, you're really tall aren't you?" She measured the difference in her and Zero's height with her hands. "Don't worry though; I'll catch up with you pretty soon."

"Lady Kaguya," Diethard said in surprise. "I thought the heads of the six houses remained in Fuji."

"I followed after you!" Lady Kaguya explained cheerfully. "So I could watch my future husband fight."

Knowing that she meant Zero, Rai couldn't help but laugh loudly while the others gasped.

"Don't joke around." Zero scolded the young girl.

"I don't think she's kidding, Boss. But hey, isn't it usually a guy's dream that they get a younger girl?" Rai teased. He ducked to avoid the slap to the head Zero aimed at him.

"Shut up Akuma." Zero ordered.

"Well," Lady Kaguya continued. "Once you win this battle you'll eventually need a wife, won't you?" she asked. "I mean, I know your identity's a big secret and all, but you're gonna need somebody as your public face, right?"

Rai was about to say something, but C.C. stepped on his foot before he could.

"Really, you believe we're going to win this battle?" Zero asked Lady Kaguya.

"Of course, I am the Goddess of Victory after all." Lady Kaguya bragged.

"I'd be lucky to have you then," Zero said. Rai was about to interrupt again, but C.C. stomped on his other foot as well. "Unfortunately, I've already made a contract with a devil."

Lady Kaguya looked at Zero in surprise and confusion. "I have no room in my life for deities right now." With that, Zero walked past the girl, and C.C. followed him.

~A few hours later~

Since Rai was still very weak from his injury, and his right arm ached horribly around the metal shoulder, Lelouch ordered him to stay behind. Rai most certainly did _not_ like the idea of hanging around Diethard at all (in fact, Rai would rather have to clinging for dear life on Lelouch's Knightmare, than be in the same room as Diethard for any period of time), but he didn't have much of a choice on the matter.

Rai was now sitting in the chair Zero had occupied earlier. He had his legs over one armrest and his head rested on the other. He closed his eyes and frowned.

Rai had stopped Lelouch from using Geass on Euphemia, but in the end she was still murdered, all the Japanese believed the Britannians to be ruthless, backstabbing, monsters, Suzaku still wanted to kill Zero, the whole thing made Rai feel like screaming in frustration and anger. The only thing that changed was that Euphemia wasn't considered an evil, lying, murderous bitch by the Japanese.

_That man with the gun. Shit, if only I had been able to get a good look at him…Maybe this is CLAMP's doing. 'She' might have influenced someone, or 'she' could even have been the gunman 'herself'. I don't know what to do next, and I can't talk to Scott right now. I'm surprise no one's accused him of being in on the "murder plot" or whatever they're calling it. Derik would be no help in this situation, he'd said just to sit back and enjoy the show, I'm sure…Wow, if he and Lelouch ever joined forces I'd have to find a hole in the ground to live in and pray they never find me…but Derik's "Stalker-senses" would probably make finding me easy for him…_ Rai let out a low, irritated growl as he tried to come up with some way to make everything better. _This is impossible. I don't know enough about piloting a Knightmare to even hope to do anything with one other than to move straight ahead._

Before Rai could continue thinking about it, Lady Kaguya sat on his stomach…but it felt like she had jumped onto it. "Hey, what are you doing?" Rai asked, giving the little girl sitting on him an annoyed look.

"You know it's proper manners to give your seat up for a lady." Lady Kaguya told him. She crossed her arms and glared right back at him.

"Well, I'm not all that good with manners, and I don't feel like moving." Rai told her, hoping that she knew enough about 'Akuma' to decide to back down.

If she did know anything about Akuma, it was apparent that she wasn't very impressed.

"Well I'm not moving either." She said stubbornly. Diethard sighed at them.

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling, and the ground started shaking. They saw large clouds of smoke and debris outside of the large windows.

"Wow, did they destroy the entire settlement?" Lady Kaguya wondered.

"I heard that only the outer perimeter was affected. There are some facilities in it that we're going to need later." Diethard told her.

Rai watched as for a moment, a creepy looking smile appeared on Diethard's face.

"If you keep making that face, it'll be stuck that way." Rai warned Diethard. "And you're ugly enough as it is!"

Diethard glared at Rai, while Lady Kaguya giggled.

"I still wonder why Zero keeps you around." Diethard grumbled. Rai simply shrugged, grinning darkly.

_I can't go out into the fighting, I'll just get myself killed needlessly. I don't want to sit around and do nothing, but it appears that I have no other choice. If I find an opportunity to do something, then I'll take it, but for now, I suppose I have to wait and see what happens…_Rai thought. He sighed out loud before he could stop himself. Diethard looked at him.

"What's the matter with you? You're not smiling and giggling like usual." Diethard observed. He gave Rai a suspicious stare.

"I'm just gloomy about how I can't join in any of the fun, what why my injury and all. Silly Boss won't let me do anything." Rai lied easily, and pouted for added effect.

Diethard believed him.

"Diethard," Zero said, communicating on their frequency. "Enemy air power's been taken care of. Kaguya will command the G1, move to your assigned location immediately." Zero ordered.

"Understood." Diethard replied. Diethard turned on his heel and left the G1 quickly, taking a group of soldiers with him.

Rai suddenly had an idea.

"Hey, little lady could you get off of me for a moment?" Rai asked. Lady Kaguya did so and Rai stood up. Rai began walking toward the door.

"What are you doing?" Lady Kaguya asked, frowning at Rai.

"I'm just going on a little stroll." Rai lied.

"In the middle of a battle?" Lady Kaguya asked in disbelief. Rai ignored her and left the G1.

The air was dark with smoke and debris. Rai looked around and once he remembered which direction Ashford Academy was, he quickly ran. He had to be very quiet, and whenever a Knightmare came into view he would duck behind something.

Although he was on foot, it didn't take him very long to reach the school. He flashed a wicked grin at one of the Black Knights keeping guard at the gate.

"Akuma, what are you doing here, I thought you weren't going to be in this battle?" one of the guards said.

"I got bored sitting on my ass, and figured I'd come here. We've already got control of the school don't we?" Rai asked.

"Pretty much yeah." The other guard said.

"Then don't worry about it, I'll be careful so that Zero doesn't get pissy at me, and after we win it'll be no big deal, got it?" Rai said. The guards decided he was right and allowed him through.

Once inside one of the buildings, Rai came across Tamaki.

"Hey Akuma, good to see you on your feet man." Tamaki greeted. Rai grinned back at him.

"Thanks. Is there anything you need help with?" Rai asked.

"Not really, there's a group of kids in the Student Council's room that we need to round up if you want to tag along." Tamaki offered.

"Sounds interesting." Rai said. Rai followed Tamaki down the hall, pretending that he had never been inside the school before. He patted his pistol in his pocket, just to make sure he wasn't unarmed.

They busted into the Student Council room.

"Hands up and turn around!" Tamaki ordered. Rai saw that Rivalz, Milly, Nunnally and Shirley were the ones in the room. "The Black Knights control the school; all of you are now our hostages!"

Rivalz stood in front of the other students and held out his arms as if to block them from the Black Knights.

"Lower your guns!" Rivalz ordered the Black Knights.

"That's a hell of a thing to say in this situation." Tamaki told him in surprise. Rai glanced at Arthur the cat, who was hissing at the Black Knights.

Milly and Rivalz had a momentary whispered conversation.

"I'll protect everyone." Rivalz said determinedly.

"Is that a fact?" Tamaki asked, smiling cruelly. He lifted his gun and was about to strike Rivalz with it. Rai grabbed Tamaki's arm to stop him.

"Stop!" Zero ordered at that same moment. Rai blinked, he hadn't even seen him come into the room. Kallen was standing next to Zero. "I expressly told you to avoid violence." Zero reminded Tamaki. "Akuma, I thought I ordered you to stay at the G1."

"But I got _bored_" Rai said in a whiny voice. Zero sighed.

"You said this was going to be our command center." Tamaki reminded Zero, as if that justified attacking Rivalz.

"Your command center?" Milly repeated in surprise.

"That doesn't mean you get to go around hitting schoolboys Tamaki." Rai scolded cheerfully. Tamaki rolled his eyes.

"You're academy is strategically for our purposes." Zero told Milly and the others. "Therefore we're turning it into a command center."

"We're in no position to refuse you." Milly said to Zero. She seemed annoyed by this.

"I guarantee none of you will be harmed." Zero promised.

"Like we can believe you, you guys are at war with us Britannians. We're enemies, remember?" Rivalz said, glaring at Zero.

"Please Rivalz, don't argue." Kallen said. She stepped forward and pulled off her Black Knight's mask. "Do what he says." There was a collective gasped from the student council members.

"Kallen." Shirley whispered. There was a long moment of silence.

"Well, well, there's a surprise around every corner." Milly muttered. "Do I have your word that no one gets hurt?" Milly asked. "Not only us but the other students, faculty, or staff anywhere on campus."

"As long as nobody tries to leave the dorms or administrative offices they ought to be fine." Kallen told her.

"I want-I want to know what you did to me." Shirley suddenly asked. "I was so terrified, you have no idea, both of you did something to me. Tell me, the truth, didn't you?"

Kallen looked at her in confusion. Rai almost frowned, but stopped himself. He remembered that Lelouch had taken away Shirley's memories, but he couldn't recall Kallen doing anything.

"What?" Kallen asked.

"How could you-how could you!" Shirley cried. Before anything else could be said, Ohgi ran into the room.

"Zero, it's the Lancelot!" Ohgi said.

"I knew he'd come." Zero said.

"Yay! I'm so happy I decided to sneak in here instead of actually following orders! This is going to be fun!" Rai said happily. However, he was actually feeling tired. Keeping up the 'Akuma' act was tiring him out since he was still not fully recovered.

Zero held up his hand.

"You're not coming with us Akuma. You're staying right here." Zero commanded. Rai pouted.

"But Boss-." Rai tried to say.

"No, and this time, you better obey your orders." Zero sounded oddly angry at Rai.

After that, Zero and Kallen left to go lure the Lancelot into their trap.

The other Black Knights left the room to guard other areas of the school. Rai was left to keep an eye on the student council.

For quite a while no one talked. Rai thought about humming, but figured that might cause Milly and the others to recognize his voice. As Akuma, Rai talked in a slightly higher pitch than his normal voice, but not so high that someone could tell it wasn't his real voice.

"You're Akuma the Hellhound aren't you?" Milly suddenly asked. Rai nodded, making sure to grin creepily. "You…You tried to protect Princess Euphemia when she was shot…how did you survive?"

Rai shrugged.

"By being to obnoxious to die, I suppose." Rai answered. Milly eyed him, as if trying to look for something.

"You almost look familiar…" Milly said. Rai felt his heart stop for a moment.

"I hope it's not an ex-boyfriend." Rai joked. Milly frowned, but then shook her head.

"Never mind, you're nothing like the person I'm thinking of." Milly stated. Rai almost felt like breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Poor Nina." Milly said, deciding to change the subject. "I wonder if she's…" She paused and looked at Rai. "…alright." It was obvious that she didn't want to give up the location of her friend if the Black Knights didn't already know it. Rai pretended to not hear her.

"And Kallen's a part of this whole thing, man this sucks. What are we going to do?" Rivalz wondered.

"It's alright." Shirley spoke up. Everyone looked at her. "The Black Knights, or Zero rather, they absolutely won't do anything to harm us."

"But how could you be so sure of that?" Rivalz asked her. Before his question could be answered, they heard something outside.

"COWARD!" It was Suzaku. Everyone looked outside the windows. Lelouch's Knightmare was floating outside the windows, right next to the building. They could also see the Lancelot. "You've taken them as your hostages, some one on one fight this is!"

"You brought this all on yourself when you rejected my bid to join me as my ally. Now you'll regret these foolish moral standards you _cling to_." Zero spat out the last two words as if they disgusted him.

"Hey, isn't that the black Knightmare that's been all over the news lately?" Rivalz asked the others.

"N-no way, Zero's not targeting this building is he?" Shirley wondered, looking horrified. "He can't be! He can't-because if he does-."

Rai interrupted her.

"Relax. My boss gave his word that no one in this school would be harmed. Of course Mr. White Knight out there might not know that…" Rai grinned cruelly. Milly and the others glared at him.

"ZERO!" Suzaku bellowed, the Lancelot dived to attack, dodging a blast from Zero's canon. The Lancelot landed on the ground, charging towards Zero. There was a crackle around the area-suddenly the Lancelot stopped moving.

Suzaku had fallen into Zero's trap.

After a few parting words, Zero's Knightmare flew away.

Rai decided now would be a good time pretend to nap. He sat on the ground by the door, and closed his eyes. He evened out his breathing, hoping to fool Nunnally as well as the others.

_I'll go with them when they help Suzaku, maybe, just maybe, I can find a way to do _something_ anything that might change how…hell I don't even know what I want to change anymore. It's almost as if nothing I do matters…I guess…I guess I'll just have fun then. I couldn't stop one freaking person from dying, it looks like for now, CLAMP got was 'she' wanted, and I was unable to stop this war…so I'm just going do whatever I want…hopefully I don't make everything worse, though…_ Rai thought, feeling lost.

"Oh, now they've got Suzaku." Rivalz groaned, grabbing his hair with his hands. They heard a bunch of people walking around in the halls.

"I wonder what's going on out there." Milly said.

"Now's your chance." Nunnally told the others. "Suzaku needs your help, go to him, please!" she paused. "And we need his help, he's the best hope we've got."

Rai opened one eye and saw Milly nod in agreement. Just as Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley stepped past Rai, he yawned as stretched.

They froze. Rai looked at them and grinned as he stood up.

"I might as well go along with you, it'd be easier to get to him if you guys are being 'escorted somewhere'." Rai said. They looked at him with suspicion.

"Why would you help us?" Milly asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Rai grinned, this time one that was not an 'Akuma' grin, but a real 'Rai' grin.

"Maybe I'm more like that guy you were thinking about, than you thought." Rai said. Milly paused, and then smiled at him.

Together as a group they snuck out of the building. Rai had completely forgotten about how V.V. takes Nunnally away after the kids leave the room.

The Black Knights ignored them for the most part, seeing that the 'ever so scary' Akuma was with the students.

_This is coming to an end, well the end of the first season that is. _Rai remembered.

~Weee pretty page break~

Outside, there was a group of Black Knights surrounding the Lancelot, including Tamaki and Rakshata. There was another Knightmare, one with a blow torch. Apparently they were trying to cut the cockpit off of the rest of the Lancelot. Rai, Milly, and the others were hiding in the bushes.

Rivalz phone suddenly rang.

"It's Lelouch." He said. Rivalz answered the phone. "Lelouch, this is a bad time." Rivalz whispered into the phone.

"Is Nunnally with you?" Rai heard Lelouch asked. Rai frowned, and then went pale as he remembered.

"No, she's in the clubhouse." Rivalz told Lelouch. Rai knew she wasn't, she was with V.V. now. "We're just a short distance away."

"Understood." Lelouch said. He hung up.

"No wait!" Rivalz tried to say to Lelouch. "Where are you anyway?"

They heard a click. With a gasp, they all turned to see a gun pointed at them. Rai quickly stood up, and acted as if annoyed with the Black Knight pointing a gun at them.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?" Rai demanded. The Black Knight looked unsure of himself.

"W-what are you doing outside with these students?" The Black Knight countered.

"Oh, they wanted a closer look at what was happening to that white Knightmare of course!" Rai explained cheerfully. "I saw no harm in indulging them. It's not like they could escape nor do any harm with so many of us around." Rai lied. The Black Knight lowered his weapon.

"A-Akuma, I don't mean to make you upset or anything, but maybe we should take them back inside…O-okay?" Another Black Knight suggested. None of them wanted to anger someone they thought to be whacked completely out of his gourd.

Rai pouted. He couldn't say no-that could make the Black Knights suspicious.

"Fine." Rai sighed reluctantly.

"Hey Tamaki, what should we do with them, should we lock them in the dorms, or in the gym with the others?" One of the Black Knights asked Tamaki. Tamaki looked over at them.

"Akuma! Why'd you let them outside?" Tamaki demanded. Rai just shrugged and grinned, which caused Tamaki to sigh. "Man, sometimes I'm surprised that you're remotely sane enough to function at all." Tamaki complained.

"Call Zero!" Shirley suddenly said, causing everyone to look at her. "I guarantee you that Zero wants us to be safe. If not, something's wrong. He's trying to guard us!"

"Aw, shut up!" Tamaki snapped at her. "Zero and me are tight, and I know that man better than anybody." Rai couldn't help but roll his eyes and that. "And he's not going to hesitate to shoot anybody in a time like this-." Tamaki pointed the gun at Shirley.

"Stop!" Suzaku shouted. Tamaki turned in surprise when the hatch opened and Suzaku stood up in the cockpit.

"Oh, what's this?" Tamaki sneered. He pointed his gun at Suzaku "The Japanese Knight, comes out to save the Brits huh?"

"Suzaku." Rivalz murmured.

"That white Knightmare is all we came here to get. A dirty traitor like you can die right there-." As Tamaki started to put pressure on the trigger of his gun, Arthur the cat came out of nowhere and attacked Tamaki. Tamaki shot into the air as he swung his gun around, trying to get the cat off it. The cat jumped down and hissed at Tamaki. Rai laughed at Tamaki. "Stupid ass cat." Tamaki growled. "Screw this, just kill all of them!"

A bright light suddenly turned on, shining down from somewhere.

"Good evening everyone!" Lloyd's voice echoed all over the grounds. Rai looked up to see a large airship. A Knightmare with the same flying system as the Lancelot came out of the airship and shot at the Black Knights.

"Retreat! Let's pull out!" One of the Black Knights said. Rai stayed standing next to Milly as the other Black Knights ran away.

"You're kidding! That Earl of Pudding actually came out to the front lines?" Rakshata said, sound both annoyed and surprised.

"Come on!" Milly said, grabbing Rai's arm and dragging him along with her as she ran. Rivalz and Shirley followed them. Tamaki, who tried to stop them, suddenly had much more than just a cat (who also decided to run for it) to deal with when the Knightmare from the airship landed before him. Rai wanted to watch what else happened, but Milly jerked on his arm and made him follow her.

Rai helped Milly and the others gather up all the students and helped them get on to the airship. Rai thought it was funny how all the students would look at him at first as if he might eat them, but then they looked confused as to why Akuma the Hellhound would be helping Britannians.

Cecile was forcing the Black Knights away, that way the students could be safely taken to the airship.

Tamaki had gotten into a Knightmare of his own.

Suddenly, Nina in a Knightmare rose out from where the old Knightmare was usually kept.

"Nina!" Milly shouted.

"Cease fire!" Lloyd shouted his voice high pitched with panic. "That goes for you too, Black Knights!"

Rakshata looked confused. "Call a temporary truce, we can't fire on that!" Lloyd yelled. He was freaking out.

"Listen everyone, do as he says, hold your fire!" Rakshata told the Black Knights.

"Nina," Lloyd called out to the girl in the old Knightmare. The look on Nina's face sent chills down Rai's spine. "Did you complete it?"

"There wasn't enough time to test it." Nina said. Although it was a whisper, it seemed loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't know if it'll explode. Still, I'll try to."

Rai did not like the sound of that. Milly ran towards Nina.

"Nina, what do you mean by explode!" Milly shouted. Cecile landed her Knightmare in front of Milly, so that she could get to Nina.

"It's dangerous, stay back!" Cecile told her.

"You see, if her theory is correct, that thing may destroy the entire Tokyo Settlement." Lloyd explained to everyone, sounding serious for once.

"Believe it!" Rakshata said as Tamaki tried to argue. "She's even using Sakuradite!"

Much to Rai's horror, Nina held up a trigger button.

"_Zero_," Nina hissed the name in hatred. "Where is he? Tell me where he is!" Nina was shaking, holding the trigger as if ready to press the button at any moment. "Princess Euphemia will be _avenged! Where is Zero?_" Nina shrieked.

Rai felt his blood run cold.

**A/N: Yeah…Rai is going through a bit of phase. He had thought that saving Euphemia would change everything and that there would be peace. But since Euphemia was killed anyway, and the war broke out still as well, Rai had no freaking clue what to do next. He feels that even if he tries to do something good 'what if it doesn't help anything'? I mean, wouldn't you think that if all you got out of doing something good was a good chunk of your should shot off? Well, I think the next chapter will be the last chapter of Dreams Turn into Nightmares. Don't worry though, because I'm continuing everything in Dreams Turn into Nightmares 2, which will go through the timeline of Code Geass R2. And once again, I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update.**


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thanks to Kiseki no Tenshi, WhiteAngel128, FallenAngelitz, ZeroPanda, Bright Blade7, Blueninja89, Pikapikaluv, and Shiro-Kyoshii. **

Rai felt as if the world around him froze as Nina's thumb touched the button on top of the trigger.

"Uh oh, good thing we're leaving." A voice said right behind Rai. Rai turned around to see who it was, only for the person to grab him by the back of the collar of his Black Knight uniform.

"Akuma!" Rai believed he heard Tamaki yell, but it was oddly muffled, as if Tamaki was far away.

There was a flash of blinding green light. It surrounded Rai, and he could still see it even after closing his eyes. Rai screamed in pain, he felt as if his body was being torn apart molecule by molecule.

Just as he nearly passed out, Rai hit the ground hard. The light was gone and he wasn't in pain anymore, although he was shaking badly and sweating profusely. His breaths came out in pants.

"W-what the hell was that?" Rai gasped. He was on his hands and knees. Rai blinked when he noticed that he wasn't on the concrete pathway he had been standing on with the other Ashford students.

Rai frowned at the gravel that was digging into his hands and jabbing his knees. He looked up and around him. There were lush, dark green hedges on either side of the path. Rai looked up at the sky, and saw that it was no longer night-time, but the middle of the day. Though there were dark, steely gray clouds, and no hint of the sun in sight. "It…It can't be…"

Rai stood up, brushing gravel from his palms and the knees of his pants. There was a groan behind him. Rai turned and saw Scott lying on his back on the ground, an arm thrown dramatically over his face, his other arm out.

"That hurt!" Scott whined. He lifted his arm and looked at Rai. "Well, at least we're back home." Scott got up as slowly as possible and looked around. "This looks like maybe near the science building, don't you think?" Scott started walking off in the direction he believed that dorms to be.

"Wait a minute Scott!" Rai grabbed Scott's arm as he raised his voice. Rai was still in shock, unsure if he should be relieved or angry at his friend. "What do you mean 'back home'?" Rai asked.

Scott rolled his eyes as he jerked his arm out of Rai's grip.

"I mean exactly what I said. We're back at Lucifer's Academy." Scott told Rai. "…Man I'm beat. It was odd how badly that _hurt_. That didn't happen when we traveled to that reality…" Scott muttered to himself as he continued to walk. Rai followed him.

"H-_how_ did you get us back? I thought it wasn't possible-." Rai asked.

"I fiddled around with the spell I used to transport us to that reality." Scott interrupted. "Finally I found one that worked…Our 'wonderful' King wasn't very happy when a bucket of blue paint was 'transported' onto his new sports car, I'm sure…But any way, now we're home and hopefully I'll live through whatever punishment that King will give me…" Scott looked nervous for a moment.

"I wonder why the first one spell couldn't have been used." Rai frowned as he said it. Scott shrugged.

"I guess it's because the realities have-well the best way I can explain it is different wavelengths. So in order to 'travel' from one reality to another, I had to figure out the wavelength of the reality I'm actually in, and the wavelength of the one I want to go to." Scott explained. Rai thought about it, and then gave Scott an angry look.

"So, if you had gotten the wavelength of where you were trying to go to, you'd end up in a reality you didn't mean to go to! What if you had gotten it wrong this time? We'd be who _knows_ where! And how did you transport us when you didn't have any of magic-ingredient-stuff that you had the first time?" Rai inquired, feeling annoyed that Scott could have possibly transported them in a random reality if he had gotten something wrong.

Scott sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry so much! I didn't get anything wrong, so we're okay." Scott said. He then pulled out what looked like a pocket watch from his pocket, when he clicked it open there was no clock, it looked like the inside of a photo locket, only without a picture in it, and it had odd symbols etched into the inside of it, as well as a piece of paper taped to one side that had only one symbol. "I made this, the piece of paper has the symbol of the wavelength of our reality, if I take it out and put a different piece of paper with a different symbol on it then we'd be able to travel to a different reality." Scott put the pocket-locket back into his pocket after saying this.

Rai and Scott didn't speak any more; they just continued to walk to the dorms.

Rai didn't know what to do now.

_I'm home now, and I should be happy about that…but…I feel frustrated-I guess…No-that's not right…shit I don't know how I feel. I know that I'm relieved that I'm not near an insane girl about to blow a whole settlement sky high…Wait, damn it I just remembered that her bomb doesn't work when she tries to trigger it. So I wasn't in danger at the moment…except that after the battle I'd have gone to jail with all the other Black Knights that got captured…What do I do now, though. Do I go back to my normal life (as normal as things get around here)…or…or do I find a way back-no, that's stupid. I'm back home and I'm staying here. There's no way I'm going back to some place where I could get killed. _Rai touched his metal shoulder, remembering how he actually almost died.

Before Rai could continue trying to sort out his inner turmoil, he was tackled by someone.

"Rai!" the person exclaimed. It was Richard. "You're back!" Richard grinned down at Rai while sitting on the shorter boy. Richard suddenly looked at him suspiciously. "…You're not going to disappear the moment I blink again are you?" Richard asked seriously.

"Nope, we're back for good." Scott told Richard.

"Good, 'cause King would be _pissed_ if that were ta happen again." Edward said, walking up to them with James following right behind. Richard got off Rai, and helped him up. Rai tried to hide the flinch he did when the area around his metal shoulder began aching. James however, noticed it.

"Are you injured?" James asked softy, looking worried. Scott answered for Rai.

"Injured? Dude, Rai's entire shoulder got shot off!" Scott said excitedly. He grabbed Rai roughly and knocked on the metal should hard, causing Rai to wince in pain. "See this? It's all metal! The doctors were able to attach his arm to it, so he can use it, but now Rai's a cyborg!"

Rai pulled away from Scott and rubbed his should gently.

"I'd hardly say I'm a _cyborg_." Rai said, rolling his eyes. Scott and Richard shared a look and a grin.

"Yeah, but now you'll set off those metal detectors at stores and shit." Richard pointed out, as if it were a _good_ thing.

James and Edward did not look as happy as Richard and Scott were.

"Ya do realize that King's gonna ta be very unpleased that Rai was hurt so badly." Edward told them.

"He will undoubtedly blame you, Scott, for what happened to Rai, and punish you for it." James said.

Richard and Scott stopped smiling when told that.

"I won't let him punish you." Rai assured Scott. "It was my own fault that I was injured. You didn't make me step in front of that bullet."

The triplets all looked at Rai as if he were insane.

"You took a bullet on purpose!" They shouted in unison. Rai nodded.

"It's a long story." Rai sighed. "…I wasn't able to save her any way…" Rai muttered.

"Who's 'her'? I hope it wasn't a girlfriend, because I don't think King would be very happy if it is." Richard asked.

"Nah, Rai just tried to save the life of a princess, but it didn't work and she still died. He's a bit out of sorts 'cause of it." Scott explained. Rai frowned at him.

"How do you know about my shoulder and such? You fled the stadium the very moment you saw the man with the gun." Rai asked. Scott smiled mischievously.

"I talked with your buddy Zero a little afterwards. He wasn't very happy that I had found a way to contact him, but he was kind enough to tell me what happened after I left." Scott said.

"So…" Came a new voice, one that sent chills down Rai's spine. The other boys froze at the sound. "You not only ran way at the sight of danger, but left _my_ Rai to be horribly damaged because of your carelessness." Derrick stepped out from the corner he had been lurking behind. His dark green eyes glinted dangerously as he looked at Scott. "That makes me…_very_ unhappy, Scott." Derrick said. His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper.

"Derrick." Rai said, stepping closer to the scary boy in hopes to get his attention off of Scott. "It was my fault, okay, so don't hurt him. My legs work just fine, I just ran right into the danger instead of away from it." Rai walked until he was right in front of Derrick. Derrick watched him closely. "Don't blame Scott for my own foolishness."

Derrick stared at Rai for a moment. Suddenly he lashed out and slapped Rai across the face. Rai's head turned to the side from the force of it. Just as quickly, Derrick then pulled Rai to him and wrapped his arms around Rai.

"Don't you _ever_ allow yourself to be hurt like that again, understood?" Derrick hissed into Rai's ear. "You are _mine_, Rai, no matter how much you deny it-and I don't like it when my property gets damaged."

Rai shoved Derrick away angrily.

"I'm not an object, Derrick!" Rai growled. Derrick simply smiled and caressed Rai's face softly. That only made Rai even madder.

"I'm sure Rai and Scott are tired from everything that has happened." James spoke up. "Perhaps they should be allowed to go to their dorm room and rest? It is Saturday, after all, and we don't have class."

Derrick thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes, that would be best." Derrick agreed. With that, he left along with Richard, Edward, and James. Rai and Scott both let out a breath of relief.

"…Thanks, you know, for distracting him." Scott thanked Rai. Rai smiled.

"No problem, we better get in to our dorm room before he remembers that he was going to do something heinous to you." Rai said. They both quickly walked the rest of the way to dormitories.

When they got to their room, Rai and Scott collapsed onto their beds.

"Well, that was quite the adventure." Scott observed, just before falling asleep. Rai's only response was a grunt before he too fell into a deep sleep.

~Time Skip~

It had been a month since Rai and Scott returned to Lucifer's Academy. Any school work that Rai and Scott had missed while in Code Geass was pardoned (thanks to Derrick's interfering). Rai wasn't having any trouble in class, since he had gone to school at Ashford, but Scott wasn't doing as well. He had been screwing around (literally) with Schneizel and being a famous singer, so he hadn't been in any kind of school.

Much to Rai's annoyance, Derrick had deemed it necessary for Rai to have an escort everywhere he went. Scott had told Rai that the reason was that Derrick believed Rai would try to find a way to go back to the reality of Code Geass.

Rai wasn't sure if he wanted to do that. He honestly missed everyone in the Code Geass world, but when he was there, he had missed his friends back home. Granted, he did have some fun at Ashford (whenever he wasn't in a near-death situation of course); he didn't like the idea of choosing fictional characters over his real-life friends and family.

Apparently, Rai's father had not been informed of Rai's disappearance. The staff (on Derrick's orders) had told Rai's dad that Rai on a class field trip to Europe. Rai was kind of annoyed that his dad hadn't questioned it, especially since those types of trips tend to need _parent permission_ beforehand.

Everything was back to how it was before Rai's trip to Code Geass-land. Scott continued to hit on everything that was bipedal (and Rai had to save him from three psycho ex's so far). Derrick continued to try and get into Rai's pants every chance he got (the first time he woke up to see Derrick looming over him in his bed was creepy…by the tenth time however, it just got annoying). Richard was still pranking and annoying everyone on campus (and dragging Edward and James into it every time).

Everything was as it should be. And yet…

_Why do I feel so…discontent? Why do I feel so-_bored_?_ Rai sighed as he thought. _This is ridiculous! Why do I feel as if I left something undone-unfinished back in Code Geass? Nothing I did matter much. Sure, I angered the spirit(s?) of CLAMP, but other than that…Euphemia still died, Suzaku still ended up despising Zero. Damn it, this feeling is in itself frustrating._ Rai stared out of the windows of the classroom. The teacher in the front of the class was talking about the book Animal Farm, and strangely enough Rai didn't care. Usually he loved this class, but today he just couldn't concentrate.

The bell rang, causing Rai to jump slightly. He gathered all of his things and walked with the rest of the students out of the classroom.

Just as he stepped out into the hall, two pairs of arms grabbed Rai and dragged him quickly away.

No one was surprise, since that happened a lot.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" Rai demanded. He didn't get an answer until he was thrown into an empty classroom.

Rai gave both Richard and Scott an annoyed look. "Why did you guys just kidnap me? I have to get to my Journalism class." Richard and Scott just rolled their eyes at that, as though they thought class wasn't very important right now.

James, Edward, and another minion of Derrick's named Atticus (who wasn't related to Derrick, but whose family had been servicing Derrick's for many years), entered the room. Atticus was a boy with brown hair and hazel eye hidden behind black rimmed glasses.

"Look, Rai, we know you've been in a slump ever since we came back-Don't say you're not, we know you." Scott gave Rai a knowing look when Rai opened his mouth to argue.

"Scott and I decided we would cheer you up, and then we forced James, Edward, and Atticus to help us." Richard explained happily.

"Great," Rai said sarcastically. "What's this fantastic plan of yours?"

Rai decided he _really_ didn't like the smile that Richard and Scott gave him.

"We're going to send you back to that Code Geass anime." Richard told him. Rai gapped at him. "With an escort, of course, Derrick would kill us if we let you go back alone."

"What? Are you guys' nuts? Why do you think that would 'cheer me up'?" Rai asked them, looking at the boys as if they were ridiculous.

They all rolled their eyes, as if Rai was the one who was being silly.

"Rai, we _know_ you. We've noticed you haven't been yourself lately." James said quietly.

"I'm not going." Rai said vehemently. "I'm not going to abandon my friends, my family, just because…" Rai went silent.

"Yeah well if that's the way you're going to be," Scott said with a grin.

"Then we're just going to have to kidnap you." Richard said with a mirroring grin. Rai went slightly pale.

"Y-you guys can't do that." Rai told them. "It would make Derrick angry."

Edward simply shrugged at that.

"We've made 'im mad 'fore, it's nothin' we won't live through." Edward guaranteed.

Scott and Edward grabbed Rai before he could try and escape from the room. Scott pulled out the pocket-locket Rai remembered him using to bring them back. James held onto Scott's other arm and Richard threw himself on Edward, just to annoy the green haired triplet.

"I shall deal with Derrick." Atticus told Rai, looking as if he were facing the gallows. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't die while on this silly little adventure."

"Don't worry, Atti." Richard teased. "We'll take care of him."

Atticus scowled at the nickname.

Rai didn't hear what Atticus had said in response, since Scott activated the traveling spell.

The world around Rai and his friends disappeared in a blinding green light. Rai closed his eyes. At least this time there wasn't any crippling pain.

When Rai opened his eyes again…

They were standing in an alley way. The sun was shining and people were going about their day as if there hadn't been a huge battle for the fate of Area Eleven and the World recently. Scott and Edward let go of Rai.

Rai wanted to glare at them, but couldn't bring himself to be angry.

"Sooo…" Richard said, looking around. "What's this guy's you're smitten with like? His name's Suzaku right, or was it Lelouch?" Richard asked with a wicked grin.

Rai could (and did) certainly bring himself to _glare_ at Scott.

"What did you tell them?" Rai inquired, not very pleased with his friend. Scott tried to look innocent.

"He said something about you being in two love triangles or something." James said.

When Scott saw the look on Rai's face, he hid behind Edward. When Rai went around Edward, Scott ran out of the alley and down the sidewalk…with Rai right behind him.

"When I get my hands on you!" Rai shouted.

The triplets looked at each other, shrugged, and then followed their two friends at a calm walking pace.

**A/N: Well, that's the end of Dreams Turn into Nightmares. Now if you excuse me, I'm off to start Dreams Turn into Nightmares 2. **


End file.
